


A Flower for the Queen

by Snelly_ESQ



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:33:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24254434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snelly_ESQ/pseuds/Snelly_ESQ
Summary: A sudden, stealthy attempt on the queen's life leaves her dying. With the only hope of saving her being just out of reach from them, they have no choice but to investigate. But will they be able to save her in time? And just who's done this, and why?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra), Perfuma/Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 60





	1. A Peace Shattering Silence

At first, she’d thought it was a headache. Its pounding was just...allergies. Allergies she’d never had before then, but allergies nonetheless. Then the fever came. Then the churning of her stomach. 

Then she started to take note of the strange mark on her arm. 

The night after the ball, she’d gone from a small headache in the morning to barely being able to move. She stumbled into her room, and huffed. Bow’s initial smile when his lover came in turned to a fearful, dreadful look. 

“...Glimmer?”

Bow helped her into the window sill daybed, as it would be easier to get healers to her. He rushed to find anyone who could help. The healers couldn’t figure out what was wrong. No one could.

They turned to Beylock.

Beylock was a wizard, much like the other healers. Unlike the other healers, he was...very old. 500 to be exact. He found the secret to immortality, and burned it long ago, unable to be killed by aging but able to be killed by force. He leaned over, and felt her forehead. 

“And this was all sudden?” Beylock asked, his old, wise voice wispy on the air. His long, blueish robes, with stars, suns, and moons, and his massive beard, painted the picture of the archetypical old fashioned wizard. 

“...yes…” Glimmer croaked out the words. He sighed, and looked at her arm. The one with the mark. 

“...get her changed into the lightest, thinnest nightgown she has.” He said. “The poison is very strong. It’s Allock Oil.”

“Poison!?” Bow was shocked. “Who would try to-”

“I’ve only seen this poison once before, but...it’s unlikely it’s who I think it is. We must treat her now. The fever will get worse.” He mixed a few things in a mortar. 

Bow helped her change, while Beylock looked away. More footsteps into the room. 

“What’s happened?” It was Roke, wearing a black shoulder cape, a pale blue tunic and cuirass, and trousers with metal greaves over riding boots.

Roke was one of the more prominent figures in the Graethites, a sort of ancient order of master swordsmen devoted to Graenoth, god of blades and justice. He was here performing as extra security for the ball, but had decided to stay an extra day for a security council meeting. 

“She’s been poisoned.” Bow laid her back down in the bed. Glimmer huffed. 

“I...don’t remember this mark or anything...I KNEW a ball would be a bad idea!”

“The night the Graethites are here and someone slips in…” Bow looked annoyed. 

“Easy, Bow.” Glimmer said. “It’s not his fault...i-it’s not as if some shady figure did this. The wound, it...it feels like a magic one. It could have been anyone.”

“You wouldn’t have needed a weapon, just a very tiny vial and the ability to use injection magic.” Beylock elaborated.

“...” Roke rushed to the bed. His soft, brown eyes, wavy, short black hair, and meeker voice didn’t loan to the image of a man who’d killed, nor did his current position, knelt at the side of the bed, holding the queen’s hand. 

“...I failed you.” The young man started to sniffle. “I’m sorry, queen…” Roke had always been very emotional. Glimmer shook her head. 

“Roke, please, you didn’t fail anyone...but some increased security would be good. For a few days, at least.”

Beylock started to mix things into the mark on her arm. The click of Roke’s scabbard, which contained his basket hilted broadsword, lifting up off the ground, drew attention to the door again. 

“GLIMMER!” Adora rushed in, pushing Roke out of the way, the sound of his buckler scraping her metal belt buckle as she accidentally struck it making Glimmer wince. 

“What happened? Are you okay!? What did this to you? WHO did this to you! I-”

“Adora.” Glimmer sighed. “I’m gonna be okay...right, Beylock?”

Beylock sighed, putting the rest of the salve he’d concocted in the mortar, and leaving it by a small end table he’d moved. 

“I’m afraid Allock Oil is a very deadly and painful poison. I have bought you time with this salve, but it’s the only dragon scale I have I’m afraid. The one I keep at my tower won’t be happy if I take more than one a month….very painful process for him, and I have to persuade him every time!”

“Beylock, there…” Bow looked desperate for good news. “There’s a cure, right?” He gripped the old man’s shoulders. Beylock looked down. 

“I’m afraid that the only cure is a flower. Darmath Nightshade.” He said. “It only grows in one place on the planet, and that’s the garden of Setharil, the Silent Princess of the Hillscape.”

“Perfuma could make one, right?”

“Of course, if she had ever seen one. No one but the Silent Princess has seen one in centuries...the Silent Princess’s garden is truly a treasure trove of rare plants. It is there if it is anywhere.”

“Great!” Glimmer said. “Setharil doesn’t give those out for free, but any price is worth life. She’s a good friend any...way...ah!” She held onto Bow fast, gripping him, letting her pain die down slowly. “What was THAT!?” Adora yelped. 

“She will slip from time to time. We must go to the Hillscape. I can get us there using magic.”

“You can teleport?”

“Unlike Glimmer, it takes up a lot of energy, so I don't do it unless I won't be using much more magic.” 

Bow shook his head. “I’m going to stay here, alright?” He looked at Adora. “You and Beylock go and get the flower. She needs it, but...I need her right now.”

“Bow…” Glimmer blushed. 

“We’ll tell you what Setharil says.”

“What if she won’t give it to us?”

“We’ll figure something out.” 

* * *

Beylock and Adora approached the palace in the mountains. A massive castle, guarded by men in furs with large swords and chainmail. Several knights in full plate armor rode past as well. 

“So what do you know about the silent princess, Adora?”

“That she’s….silent?” Adora shook her head. “I mean, I know she’s generally very kind. I know she likes Glimmer! So...we have a foot in the door. But I don’t know much else.”

“Her name is Setharil, and she is rumored to be an aspect of Mylian, goddess of nature and beauty.” Beylock elaborated. “She hides herself from the world for reasons unknown. But those who see her face know exactly who she is….granted, we won’t be seeing her face.”

“No?”

“She hides behind a veil.” Beylock walked further. The guards at the gate halted him. “Stop! You enter the palace of Setharil, Ruler of the Hillscape, Commander of the tribes of Walrach, Lakath, and Curec.” The guard barked. “State your purpose!”

“I am Beylock, the wise. I come to seek aid from the garden of Setharil.”

“...very well. You may enter, Beylock the Wise.” The spears were lifted and the gate was opened. 

“Wow, throwing that name around is pretty useful, huh?”

“Oh, well...save the hillscape a few times from dragon problems and suddenly you’re a celebrity.” 

“Wait, like...dragons? Honest to goodness dragons!? Like there’s more than the one up at your tower!?”

“Another day, we’ll talk about dragons.”

They wandered to a throne room. Usually, she spoke through a mouthpiece, and today was no exception. She spoke to someone who was...odd. He wore dark purple robes, and had a distinct face. He didn’t look right. Wasn’t it normally her brother?

“The princess welcomes you.”

“Thank you, Princess.” He said. “I must ask a dire favor...the queen of Bright Moon, Glimmer, has been poisoned. I’m afraid the only cure would be Darmath Nightshade.” Beylock said. “Do you grow that in your garden?”

“...She grows it.”

“Great! Which way to the Garden?” Adora turned to walk,but the mouthpiece spoke. 

“Need I remind you that, for security reasons, a hex has been placed on the garden, so that any who enters not named Setharil is knocked unconscious? It makes it easier to throw you in prison.”

“What must we do to obtain the flower?”

The mouthpiece was silent. For a while.

“There...there is nothing that can be done. She will not allow it.”

“Setharil, please, you have to-”

“She is not going to allow it.” He said. “That is final. She does not even know Glimmer.” 

“They know each other really well, don’t the-”

“She is done talking for today.”

“...what?” Adora looked upset. “Listen, buddy, we NEED the flower or Glimmer will DIE. I’m not leaving withou-”

“Adora.” Beylock held her shoulder. “Let’s not do anything rash…” He said. “Let’s go.”

“What!? GO!? GLIMMER NEEDS THE-”

Beylock teleported them out of the throne room. He gripped her hand tightly. “Thank you for letting us in, guards. Tell her brother, Klaus, that I send my regards.” 

“...Klaus?” One of the guards shook his head. “Sir, he is on business travel to Mystacor.”

“Oh?” 

“He wants to discuss a trade deal on behalf of the Princess...he left 2 weeks ago, but the princess insists he stays.”

“...thank you.” He teleported back to Bright Moon. 

“What WAS that? She LOVES Glimmer, she-...wait.”

“Hmm, Adora?” 

“She’s been replaced. She always comes out of her way to give gifts to Glimmer, she knows her very well. Her brother is in Mystacor? And she keeps extending his stay!? Whoever tried to assassinate Glimmer is in on this.”

“...It is likely. And I think I have an idea of who it might be.”

* * *

Glimmer huffed as Adora came in. “Any flower?”

“...Glimmer, Setharil has been replaced by an impostor. They’re taking advantage of the fact that no one ever sees her.”

“No…” She held Bow’s hand. 

“We’re gonna do what we can to keep searching, Beylock has some ideas, but-”

“Maybe we need to find who assassinated...er...tried? To assassinate you?” Roke said. “Finding out who, where, and if Setharil is alive will be important.” 

“That’s a good point.” Adora said. “Roke, you go to the spy wing and see if any of them can think up a plan. I’ll see if I can get any more information. Glimmer, you…” Adora looked down, “you keep fighting. Hard. We need time. I promise we’ll save you but we need time.”

“Thanks, guys…” Glimmer smiled softly. “Bow, can you...stay the night?”

“Of course.” He kicked off his boots and metal chest piece, wrapping his arms around her. “I’m not going anywhere.”


	2. Desperate Times

“CITIZENS! THE AN ATTEMPT HAS BEEN MADE ON THE LIFE OF GLIMMER, QUEEN OF BRIGHT MOON, LEADER OF THE ALLIANCE, AND DAUGHTER OF MICAH! ANY INFORMATION ON SUSPICIOUS INDIVIDUALS SHOULD BE DELIVERED TO THE GUARD INQUIRY HOUSE IN THE PALACE DISTRICT!” 

Glimmer rubbed her eyes and struggled to wake up. She felt even worse. The Salve was working though, as she at least didn’t feel herself slipping out of life again...well, frankly, she did once or twice, but it was getting less common. Far less! That’s a good sign! Right?

Bow was pressed up close against her. He stirred, and woke up. “...any better?”

“Glad that you’re here, but no.”

Bow woke up and sat up on the bed, looking down at her. 

“Man, we pick the worst times to do anything.” Glimmer said. 

“What do you mean?”

“Remember how I told you I loved you? We were both certain we were going to die?”

“But we didn’t.”

“And now...ah...now I’m certain I’m going to die right before our-”

“You will live to see that day, Glimmer. I promise you that.” He kissed her sweetly, rubbing her cheek with his thumb. “I love you too much to let you die.”

“Bow, I-”

“Shh. Rest. No doubt everyone’s going to want to see you today.”

“Everyone?”

“Sure. News travels fast, even Entrapta probably knows by now.” Bow stood. “I have to see if Adora’s got any more information on wha-”

“She’s still sleeping.” Catra was leaning against the doorframe. She wore a loose red tunic and black trousers. Her hair was still short. She padded into the room. “Hear Glimmer got sick.”

“Poison.” Bow said. “Very sick.” 

Catra walked over. “Hey, bud.” She looked down at Glimmer. “Not well, are you?”

“No…” 

“Sorry to hear it, Glimmer.” She sat on the bed and felt her forehead. “Yikes...you’re on fire.” 

“Doesn’t….f-feel that way.”

“I’m sorry this happened to you, but...Adora says we’re gonna do what we can. I didn’t know at all until she told me.”

“It’s okay. Catra?” Glimmer looked up. “On Horde Prime’s ship...you saved me. Thank you.” She held Catra’s hand.

“It’s fine, I...thought we’d already said that.” 

“And thank you for being there for Adora.” Glimmer leaned over. “You’ve been good to her...and you’ve been good to me.”

“...these sound like goodbyes.” Catra crossed her arms. “I didn’t save Adora just to put her best friend in the damned  _ ground _ . You’re living.” Catra walked out. “Like it or  _ not! _ ”

“...well, she’s handling this well.” Glimmer said. 

“You did sound really pessimistic.” Bow added. 

“Safe to say that I am, right?”

“Glimmer, you can’t, I-”

“I’ve fought my whole life.” Glimmer looked him in the eye. Her eyes were glassy, as if tears were forming in them. “I...I’m gonna keep fighting but I don’t know if this is something I can do.”

“Glimmer…” Bow hugged her tightly. “I’m not letting you die.”

“I’m not telling you to give up and I’m not saying I have. I just...we need to be ready for that. I’ve lost a lot. Being ready is important.”

“Well we’re not gonna lose you.”

In came Micah. He looked...bleary eyed. “Glimmer?” He saw the two. “Oh, uhm...hi, Bow, was this a...bad time?”

Bow looked down. “...Oh! No, uhm...I ought to...get my clothes back on.” Glimmer chuckled. 

“Hi dad.” 

“Glimmer…” He rushed over and hugged her, squeezing gently. “How’re you?”

“Not good.”

“I know, love.” He smiled warmly at her. “I promise we’ll do whatever we can…”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Glimmer asked. 

“Well, then-” Micah sighed. “Then you can say hello to Angella for me.” He kissed her cheek. “But I promise you we’re gonna do what we can.” 

“Thanks.” Glimmer kissed his cheek. “I love you Dad. Even if I only got to have you for a while.” 

“I love you too, sweetheart. I’m going to talk to Beylock and see if he’s made any developments, okay?” 

“Alright. You’re in charge while I’m...y’know. Here.” 

“Got it. I’ll try my best not to burn the place down.” He winked. 

The day dragged on, and more visitations. Gifts, as well. A few hastily made ‘get well soon’ cards from children in the palace district, and some other little trinkets. Perfuma came, with Scorpia. Seahawk and Mermista were in tow.  
“Glimmer!” They almost shouted all at once. Glimmer looked over. “Hey, guys...you didn’t have to do this, really.” 

“Yes we did!” Scorpia said. “I know you probably aren’t eating much right now, on account of the whole...sickly and near death thing, but I brought old horde food!” She had a bunch of wrapped up bars of things. “It’s the gray stuff. Y’know, that was actually Catra’s favorite o-”

“I brought flowers.” Perfuma shakily held up a gorgeous vase, and put it on the hard part of the windowsill. 

“Thanks, perfuma, that’s really-”

Perfuma burst into loud tears, hugging Glimmer tightly. “I’m so sorry I can’t save you! I-I wish I could, I-”

“Hey, Perfuma, it’s okay...there’s already people on it!”

“I just wish that I could be of some sort of help…” 

“You’re here. Sometimes that’s the best help someone can be.” She sat up. “Thanks, Scorpia, I appreciate it.” 

“Sure! So, any ideas who did this?” 

“That’d be a question for Roke, or Adora, or Beylock, or...someone who isn’t me.” She crossed her arms. “They got Setharil too.”

“...is that the quiet one?” Mermista asked. 

“Yeah. She’s got access to what can save my life but it’s gonna be pretty hard to...get…” She held onto Bow. Bow sighed. “You’re okay…”

“What was that?” Perfuma asked. 

“That’s what I said. She apparently gets really close to dying, Allock Oil is supposed to do that.” Bow clarified

“Yikes…” 

“Has anyone actually  _ Seen  _ Adora yet today?” Seahawk asked. 

* * *

“It makes no sense!” Adora said. “How could they have slipped in?” She walked down the hallway with Roke. Roke shrugged and scratched his head. 

“I think they might be someone we know. Maybe a sort of...sleeper cell thing or something like it?”

“Oh, come on, that’s crazy talk.”

“So is the queen of Bright Moon being poisoned at the most securely guarded ball in history.” 

“Hey, you two.” Down the hall came...them. Double Trouble, their tail swishing lightly in the air as they walked. “I heard about Glimmer.” They said. “I think I might have a lead.”

“A lead?”

“What do you have!?” Adora asked. 

“Lemme show you.” Double Trouble shifted into someone wearing dark purple robes. They twirled around a bit. “His name was Bjorlam Siyl, he was a member of the Burgesses of State. Retired a while ago and went missing...I saw him at the ball. He brushed up against Glimmer and left in a BIG hurry. I think I saw him head west. I also heard him say something about being needed in ‘Erlhest’.”

“Erlhest?”

“It’s a town in Northern Plumeria, right on the mountain border. Got a big cave next to it. I’m sure it’s got something to do with that.”

“So how did you guess his name?” Adora asked. “Are you just...that good?”

“Let’s just say the reason it took so long for me to tell you about this was because I didn’t know he was suspicious until I fought it out of him.”

“Wow, really?”

“Uhm, YES really!” They changed back. “You go missing for 2 years and suddenly you’re needed in Erlhest after brushing casually against the queen? Why do you think I followed him? He only confessed to being associated with this weird group a few hours ago.”

“What was this group called?” Roke asked.

“The Luruks.” They said. 

“DT, thank you. I’ll tell Beylock right away. Roke, you go tell Micah.”

“On it.”

“Double Trouble...do they know Bjorlam is missing?”

“Why, how could they? In fact?” They shifted. “I think he’s headed back there right now.” 

* * *

Frosta rushed into Glimmer’s room, where the others were. She was followed by Entrapta. 

“GLIMMER!” Frosta’s face was full of angered tears. She huffed and sighed. “What...how...WHO HURT YOU!?” She huffed. “I’ll hurt them…”

“Frosta!” Bow pulled her away quickly. “Be careful! She’s not in a good way.”

“You’re right she’s not, and the people who did this aren’t gonna be in a good way either!” 

“Frosta…” Glimmer spoke. “C’mere.” She guided her onto the bed and into a hug. 

“...I was a good friend right?” Frosta was still speaking through sobs. “I was a good friend?”

“Frosta, you were the little sister I never had. I can’t thank you enough for being my friend.”

“...” Frosta just bawled into her shoulder, and Glimmer tried to soothe her. 

“If I die, know that I loved you like a sister. And if I live, I’ll remind you of that every day.” Glimmer sighed. “N-now get off me, it’s hard to breath as is!”

“Uhm…” Entrapta walked in. “I’m not great with...gifts. Or my emotions? Or much about that. But...I made you this.” She put down a little puzzle cube. “It’s just little wooden blocks machined and glued together in forms that make it a challenge to put back together. I figured you wouldn’t want to die doing nothing, so-”

“Entrapta!” Perfuma huffed.

“What!?”

“Don’t say she’s gonna die!”

“Entrapta, I like this.” Glimmer hugged her. “A lot of visitors…”

“We’re here to tell you we’re fightin’ for ya.” Scorpia said. “And whatever we gotta do to make it work, we’ll do it!”

“And if…” Glimmer shook her head. “Never mind.”

“If you die, we’ll still fight to bring the murderer to justice!” Seahawk said, proudly. “We will support you whether or not you live. But we’ll do everything to make sure that you do, even if it means a dangerous, daring, and  _ diffICULT ADVEN-” _

The door opened. 

Beylock. 

“It’s worse than I had imagined.”

“What?” Glimmer asked. 

“Adora informs me that it was a group known as the Luruks...a mysterious cult who will be hard to fight. I have...encountered them in the past.”

“When?” Bow asked. 

“That is unimportant. What is important is that the spy Double Trouble has found a way in. Whatever information they find could be...useful.”

“So we’re headed in the right direction?”

“Yes.” Beylock said. “Glimmer, this will be a dangerous and harsh illness. I am not sure you will survive it.” He rubbed a bit more of the salve on her. “I have done what I can...and they will do what they can as well.”

“...Thanks, Beylock. I want some private time, if you all don’t mind.”

“Alright.” They all nodded. Bow kissed her. “I’ll be back later tonight...right now, the rest of us need to make arrangements to stay here in the palace a while.”

“Promise you’ll be back?”

“Promise.” As the group filed out of the room, glimmer used a little magic, closing the curtains. She struggled to do even that. 

This was going to be a hard situation to get out of. But with friends like the ones she has? She figured she had a good chance.


	3. The Sleuth and the Scholar

Double Trouble put up the disguise of Bjorlam; pale, older, with green eyes and no more hair. They put up their hood as well, to try and give a bit more aid to the disguise. The cave’s mouth was small, and guarded by 2 men. 

“HALT.”

DT stopped. 

“Name?”

“Bjorlam.”

“Ah. Back from your mission with the queen?”

“Yes, friend.” DT nodded. 

“Well met...is she in pain?”

“Oh, very much so, friend.” They said. “In fact, she was writhing in her bed when I left this morning.” They laughed. “That little lover of hers was blubbering, too...how useless they’ll be in a fight.”

“Come in, friend. This way.” 

When Double Trouble got into the cave, they didn’t know what to expect. But it sure as hell wasn’t  _ this. _ The walls were covered in magically lit torches, and a massive throne, filled with a spindly, decrepit old man were there. 

“Bjorlam...I, Lurunosek, demand to know your progress.”

“...the queen has been poisoned.”

“And? She is in pain, yes?” 

“Of course!” 

“Good…” Lurunosek stood, towering over DT, even in their form disguise. Lurunosek’s steps were light, as if he barely weighed anything. He wore dark, black robes, a large mask, and a belt, with a few different things, including a vial. 

“My lord,” Another one said, “Perhaps Bjorlam would like to rest a while? He’s been very busy, an-”

“One more task, my child…” Lurunosek lifted up DT’s chin. “...You will do the same to Castaspella, a noblewoman of Mystacor. She is in Bright Moon...you’d best be quick.”

“Yes, my lord.” DT looked up into Lurunosek’s eyes. “If I may, my lord,” They stood up, “I would like to ask...why the order we’re going in?”

“Hmm. An apt question, my child.” Lurunosek stood and went to sit on his throne. “The people of Bright Moon are strong. Mystacor’s mages are clever. The tribes of the Hillscape are united under one queen...which your friend Loros has taken care of. If these fall first, then the others will fall in due time.”

“They are weak?”

“They are strong. Their  _ leaders  _ are weak. Their leaders are like you... _ mortal. _ I am Immortal.” Lurunosek said. All this time, a small rabbit had found its way into the cave. Hardly a threat. “Once we have destroyed them, then we will rule the people. Horde Prime wished to rule through conformity.” 

Lurunosek picked up the rabbit, and ripped its head from its body. 

“I will rule through  _ FEAR.”  _

DT huffed and nodded. “...I shall go to Bright Moon. Though, I may wish to be led to the cell of Sethari-”

“You will do this now. No time to waste.”

“My lord, I wish to see the pris-”

“When you return.” He said. “Now, GO.” 

Double Trouble left, and snuck away to use a communicator. “Did you hear all of that, Bow?”

Bow, who’d been listening on the other line, sighed a heavy sigh. “Yes. I heard it...I’m assuming you have a plan?”

“It involves someone being good at acting. Or, at least, sending fake correspondence.”

“We can work with that...good work. Do what you have to and get back in there when you can.”

* * *

It was safe to say that Glimmer  _ hated  _ this. Every moment her friends were gone and planning, she loathed just doing nothing. What else could she even do? Her entire body ached, and her heart was pounding out of her chest. Her fever was even higher today...she couldn’t bear to do nothing. She was still in her nightgown, but she had to do...something, anything. But what could she d-

_ Luruks.  _

She remembered the Luruks. Her mother used to read her bedtime stories from this old tome somewhere in the library. She remembered putting it back when she was a kid, but...it never really got touched after that. She hoped. She prayed. She knew she could probably find it using the index if it’d been put in the wrong spot, but she also knew those old books didn’t get touched unless someone was doing some pretty hardcore research, and maybe a bunch of kids stories weren’t what scholars were looking for. 

With every bit of strength she could muster, she teleported. The Library. 50th Aisle, the back room, near the end of the shelf. The smell of old books on very old paper ran through the room. She found it. She sighed when she touched it. Partly because she was abnormally winded from the teleportation, and partly because of the memories it evoked. Mom reading to her from the book, stories about Snei the Dragon, the Elf Princess, the Graethite and the Farmer...and the tale of Lurunosek and the Drogs. She teleported back to her room, winded, yet again. 

_ “Lurunosek was powerful, but his hubris did him in. His potion was not ready when the battle did begin. A vial, in his belt, he wore, where the elixir sat. A single hit there, by the by, would be the end of that.  _

_ The Drogs came in, and many died, to fight Lurunosek. And only one poor drog survived, to keep his pow’r in check. Around the cave he closed the walls, hoping he would not return. The secret of eternal life? It was the Drog’s to burn.”  _

“...thanks, Mom.” She sighed, and marked the page. She couldn’t just sit here with that information. But her magic was spent, she could feel it...even weaker than before, she stood, and padded to the planning room. She overheard them talking.

* * *

“So the word from Double Trouble is that Setharil is still alive, but Casta’s going to have to do some creative acting.” Bow said. 

“I can act. What do I need to do?”

“Probably just send letters saying you’ve been wounded...then we go in for the kill.”

“He’s immortal. We can’t kill him! You heard what he said!” Catra proclaimed. 

“Well, I mean...we have to be able to do something, right? Where’s Beylock?” 

“Beylock’s in his chambers…” Adora said. “I can run it by him whether or not it’s even a good idea to try and kill him. Maybe we can...shut him away some place? Like the dungeon?” 

“Maybe. That does require us to capture him though…” Netossa smirked. “So We grab him? I can make a net big enough for an immortal lunatic.” 

“I dunno...then unless we kill all his followers, we’re dead in the water if he manages to make an escape. It’s too risky.”

“Well, we can’t just LEAVE him there!” Catra harumphed. “He’s trying to  _ kill people. _ ”

“Does anyone have ANY idea what we can do?”

The door to the room opened. In came...Glimmer. She had the book. “He...wears a vial on his belt, it’s got his...potion. He can’t live without it!” Glimmer tried to walk, but the trudge from her room to the planning room was a long and arduous one. The room started to spin, and Bow rushed over. 

“He...it’ll….someone defeated him once...the Drogs!” 

Bow hefted her up, making sure she didn’t hit the floor when she collapsed. “Glimmer! Wha...how...IS THAT FROM THE LIBRARY!?” Bow looked like he was about to have a stroke as he sat Glimmer down in one of the chairs. Perfuma aparated a large plant to try and fan her off. 

“You...know how to kill him now, right?” 

“Glimmer, that is NOT what I asked!” Bow was hyperventilating. “You can’t DO that right now, you’re BEING EATEN FROM THE INSIDE OUT BY POISON!” He held her tight and sighed. She shook a little. 

“I didn’t...I’ve had time to think over every small aspect of my life in there, Bow. That’s too much time to sit and think. I needed to do some...ah!” She gripped him. She’d slipped again...it’d become more common of an occurrence. 

“Thank you for finding that out.” Bow said, “I appreciate it...you won’t mind if I bring you back to bed now will you?”

Glimmer sighed. “Fiiiiiine.” She got in his arms, and he carried her back. 

“...wow.” Adora leaned on the table. “She...that’s really Glimmer of her.”

“So what’re we gonna do?”

“Well, we still need to get Setharil, since she’s the only one who can get into the garden...Beylock can probably figure out what to do with Lurunosek.” 

“Good.” 

“How will we get to Erlhest?” Perfuma asked. “It’s not even close to the border.”

“Well, I mean, like...it’s a straight shot up the Zoln from here, and that river’s pretty deep?” Mermista looked at the map, “It’s definitely something we could send a ship up. I can also, like, make the currents good for us, so there’s that.”

“Aha!” Seahawk stood. “I have just the perfect river boat for us to make it to Erlhest in record time with! Fair friends, our desperate chase to save the queen has gone from just that, a hopeless, desperate chase, to a heart pounding, show stopping ADVEN-”

“We’ll use the boat that’s great!” Adora hurriedly cut him off. She wrote some things down. “Alright...I guess that’s all we need for tonight! Good work, team, we’ll meet later on. Roke, you do some sweeps. The rest of you...uh...rest.” 

Adora walked back to her room, looking stressed. She let her hair down on the way back. Catra caught up to her. “So. We’re one step closer.”

“I dunno.” She said. “A lot of this relies on a lot of...assumptions, I guess.”

“Assumptions are what we’ve got right now, Adora. They’re good enough for me.” 

“But what if something goes wrong?” Adora took off her jacket when they crossed the threshold into her room. “What if it’s not the only vial he has, what if we can’t hit it, what if Setharil dies...I don’t want to lose Glimmer.”

“I don’t want to lose her, either. And we  _ Won’t.”  _

“What makes you say-”

“Adora.” Catra held her, and looked up into her eyes. “I didn’t have friends other than you. You do! You have a lot of friends! And I...I don’t know how that feels. I’m still getting used to it.” 

“Catra, I-”

“Glimmer is your friend. And that means she’s my friend too. I don’t want...I don’t want to lose something I fought so hard to get.” She nestled into Adora. “And you know that I’m stubborn. Too stubborn to let some cultist nutjob kill her.” 

“I know, and it’s not like I’m giving up! I’m just anxious. I can’t look anxious out there, SheRa can’t look anxious!”

Catra kissed her deeply. “You’re allowed to be anxious around me.” 

Adora sighed, and it was a sigh of relief. She kissed Catra again. “...are you anxious too?”

“Of course.” She said. “Who wouldn’t be? There’s a lot on the line.”

“Well...let’s be anxious together then.” She got down to her underwear, nestled into bed with Catra, and slept. This was going to be a hard time for all of them. 

But even SheRa needed to be reminded she wasn’t alone sometimes.


	4. Shadows on the Wall

Roke didn’t always like doing rounds at the castle. It was scarier here at night. Every corner became a place that a sudden ghost would pop out, or that a spider could crawl on you. It was a really bizarre feeling to him, to be in a place so old...and yet, he lived at Sword Rock, one of the oldest temples in all of Etheria. Definitely older than the castle. Perhaps he just didn’t like the architecture, the imposing columns and rounded walkways making it hard to see more than a few dozen yards or so. 

He huffed and sighed, keeping watch. He heard footsteps. 

“Halt! You’re not supposed to b- Hey!” 

Frosta, of all people, turned the ground under him to ice. He slipped, but balanced himself on a wall. “Hey, Swordboy!” 

“It’s Roke, that doesn’t even sound like Swordboy!”

“Whatever. What’re you up to?” She asked. 

“Watch.” 

“Can I join in?”

“No, you’re,...well, I mean...you’re pretty powerful.” Roke shrugged. “I don’t see why you couldn’t, you could probably defend yourself if you needed to.”

“YEAH!” She walked the halls with him. “So...what now?”

“We walk around.”

“It’s more...boring than I’d imagined?”

“Well, I mean, yeah.” He said. “No real positive way to spin this.”

“I hear you were at the order when it was overrun by the horde.” 

“Beg pardon?”

“Sword Rock? When that guy gave away its location and you had to run away?”

“I  _ really  _ don’t want to talk about that right now, it’s still kind of a new wound.”

“Is the order big again yet?”

“Huh?” Roke shrugged. “It was never really big to begin with, but it’s getting close to its normal size. I mean, Markalus was never a Graethite but he’s a good recruiter. Guess that’s why there used to be way more guards around here before he left the job.”

“Man, when I was young, I thought I would wanna do that stuff.” She said. She formed an ice sword. “All this cool swordplay, the training, the aesthetic…”

“Heh, you’re never too old to learn, y’know.”

“Nah, I figure the best thing for me is ice magi-”

…

They stopped in their tracks. 

They saw...people. Trying to get in. They were wearing hoods. Who…

One of them had Setharil’s ceremonial sword. 

A sword that a Graethite smith had made. 

_ One of them had a Graethite sword. _

“HALT!” Roke called. “To refuse the order is a crime against the crown!” 

Frosta had no time for such pleasantries. She just straight froze one. “Hah! Take that!”

The other 7 rushed the two. Frosta formed her Ice Fists, and used them to deliver a rib-cracking punch to one of the assailants. One got close to her, and hit her side with a warhammer. She winced in pain, but quickly froze that one in place, and punched him with her ice fists until he was knocked out. It didn’t take long. She froze one’s hand, then the other, and when that one got close, she grabbed the ice hands, bonded them to her ice fists, and then released them. He flew into the wall. “Woohoo! This isn’t half bad!” She looked over at Roke, and was rather...well, rather jarred. 

Roke was more precise, but he was trained to kill. And he did. The first was easy, a quick rush like that almost always resulted in a stab when it was a rush against Roke. He pulled away from that one, and blocked a strike with his buckler. He swept that strike down and opened the man’s side up for a slash. He tripped another over his leg and decided to leave him alive, but hurt, kicking his head with his boot. It was clear Roke was angry when he saw the one with Setharil’s sword. 

Roke slashed at the man, who turned out to be somewhat competent with a blade. “Gah...that sword…” 

“Belonged to the princess of the Hillscape!” 

“To use another’s sword is a crime against Graenoth...to use it is in itself an attack on the sword’s intended user…”

“A graethite, eh?” The man smirked under his mask. Roke was letting hot tears of harsh anger and rage flow down his cheeks. 

“You’ll pay!” He slashed under the man’s arm, and he fell, screaming in pain. Roke stood on his chest. 

“Why were you sent here and by who!?”

“L-Lurunosek sent us!” The man cried. “We were sent to terrorize you...it seems to have worked. And we didn’t even need to kill the queen’s father or trash the palace to do it, as we’d planned!”

“You lost.”

“ _ I WON,  _ boy. I scared you. You know that you are NEVER safe...killing me does not make you a winner. It only makes another man dead.”

“Is Setharil alive?”

“...what?”

“Is she alive!?”

“...yes…” 

“Good.” Roke moved to kill him. 

“ROKE WAIT!” Frosta tried to stop him. 

“He used a sword of the order!”

“ROKE! He can give us information!” Frosta rushed over. “I’m okay with you doing what you had to do to the others but this guy could be useful!” 

Roke sighed, and sheathed his sword. He looked out on the bodies on his side of the fight. 

“...I’ll call the guards, we’ll have it cleaned by sunrise.” He looked down. “

The guards came after hearing the commotion, and rushed to take the living to the dungeon and the dead or wounded to the infirmary. The blood spilled would be cleaned. Roke walked with Frosta to Glimmer’s room. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” Roke said. “That’s not...it can’t be great for someone to see that.”

“Roke, I’m almost grown and I’ve seen worse.” 

“I know you all tried your hardest not to kill during the rebellion days, but-” Roke paused. He was trying to figure out the words. “Am I a murderer? Does it count as murder if the other guy is trying to kill you?”

“Uhh...that’s a question for someone WAY more qualified than me, buddy, I dunno if I could really tell you th-”

“Roke!” Micah found them down the hall. “I heard what happened. Did you take care of it?”

“There were 8, 5 lived.” 

“Good. Did I hear you having an existential crisis down the hall?”

“I...maybe?” 

“Roke, please, you have one of those every time you wake up in the morning.” 

“I’ve had a rough time, Micah, alright!?”

“That’s NOT what this is about!” Frosta, in a rare moment, was the voice of reason. “We need to be focused on the fact that a bunch of people snuck in and tried to kill Micah and trash the palace!”

“Wait, I was on their list?” Micah asked. “What for?”

“They were trying to terrorize us.” Roke said. He crossed his arms. “So...we did what we had to.”

“I see. I’ll tell Gli-” 

“No.” Another interrupting voice. Beylock. 

“She is asleep. I applied more Salve, her attacks are getting worse.”

“Worse?” Micah asked. 

“Afraid so.” Beylock looked down. 

“Beylock.” Frosta asked. “What do you know about the Luruks? You said you had encountered them before, right?”

“Yes, I have.”

“When?”

“A long while ago-”

“Were you a Drog?” Frosta asked. “Glimmer said that the Drogs beat him once and only one lived.” She formed ice fists again. “And you haven’t said a WORD about it!”

“Frosta, please, we know about the vial, why-”

“He lived the first time! I wanna know why you didn’t go for the vial!” 

“FROSTA!” Micah held her back. Beylock looked down and sighed. 

“I was a Drog.” He said. “We...I thought I had defeated him. It’s taken centuries to find out why I was so wrong.”


	5. The Luruks and the Drogs

_ “Mom?” Glimmer peaked out from her covers. “Can you read me a bedtime story?” _

_ “Hmm?” Angella pulled up a chair. “Alright, then...how about the Luruks and the Drogs?” Angella turned to the page in the old, dusty tome. “Once upon a time, long long ago, there were two rival factions, who you ought to know…”  _

Beylock poured over an old document in his temporary study, where Roke, Frosta, and Micah had come. “The Drogs and the Luruks had the same goal on paper.” He said. “We both sought to create that most ultimate of alchemic concoctions...an elixir to extend life eternally.” He turned the document over, and it showed...names. The names were in old Etherian. “I was a Drog. The name comes from Dragon and Man...well, in the old Etherian.” He said. “We sought to create eternal life because of the impending extinction of certain types of great reptiles...wyverns, wyrms, they existed, but unlike Dragons they could not live forever by hiding, and the ones that could were hunted to extinction. We wanted to stop that...we wanted them to exist for posterity.” 

“And what about the Luruks? Did they just want...the power of it?” Micah asked. 

“Lurunosek was a strong wizard. But he craved power...much like Shadow Weaver when she was alive. He would stop at nothing to get it...so he tried his hardest to make a potion that could grant eternal life.” 

“And what happened?” 

“The potion was so weak, it could barely support him, let alone his followers. But he ran with it, and tried to take Mystacor by force.” 

“And the Drogs moved to stop him?” 

“We set out to. Eventually, the battle happened before a cave, and I...shut him in.” He said. “He had no tools and his magic was severely weakened by his dependence on the elixir.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, then pushed up his thick, round glasses, taking his hat off. “I thought he would starve. Or, at least, that his potion would wear off. It must not have.”

“You think,” Frosta started, “that maybe the potion could support him without food or water?”

“Perhaps. The old tales they tell seem to indicate that. The truth is I do not fully remember...magic only helps with so much.” 

“We need to go to the war room.” Frosta said. “Roke, you get everybody. Micah, you...what were you up to before this all went down?”

“...sleeping.” 

“Yeah never mind don’t do that. Come with us.”

* * *

“So what you’re trying to say, is that we need to hit a vial on his belt?” The group had moved to the planning room, to try and assess the situation. “We already knew that.” Adora said. 

“The issue is that no non ranged attack can hit it. And he can ward off magic.” Beylock said. “If he became powerful enough to free the cave from those rocks, then it stands to reason his wards are powerful as well.” 

“Beylock…” Bow stood. “If I were to...say, shoot an arrow, could he block it?”

“If he didn’t see you? No. If he did see you, then yes, but only when he wasn’t holding up a ward.” 

“So Bow needs to hit the vial, we defeat him, we get Setharil, she gets us the flower, we save Glimmer.” Catra shrugged. “I just feel like we’re in the same spot that we were.”

“Yeah...Beylock, we knew all this stuff already.”

“Perhaps. There is something else you ought to know though. A power he has access to that is so intense it can-”

“Beylock, this is all fine and good, but I need to cut you off. We need to communicate with Double Trouble.” Bow opened up the communicator. 

“DT?”

“Bow? You there?”

“I am. How’re things?” 

“Things are fine, I’m laying low in Plumeria for a while until I go back. Speaking of, have you guys managed to get those letters sent?”

* * *

_ “And when Lurunosek was caught, his body, limp and lame, he shouted ‘mir kova lekaut,’ and a dragon he became! His body enveloped in scales, his snout spewing black smoke, so much of it into the cave, a lesser man would choke!”  _

_ Glimmer was wide eyed. “What happens next? Does he eat the good guys?”  _

_ “Well, wait and find out, dear, let me read.” Angella smiled. She continued.  _

“Casta has sent out the notes.” Bow spoke to DT over a communicator. “We’re all good here. As far as he knows, you’ve completed the task. Good work.” 

“I try my best. Hey, have you thought about how to bag this guy?”

“We’re gonna go for the vial on his belt and see from there.” 

“...That’s it? You aren’t worried about literally anything else?”

“What, has he got something else?”

“...It’s a pretty BIG something else.” Double Trouble said. “He can kind of...turn into a dragon?” 

“A WHAT!?” Bow shook his head. “He can turn into a dragon!?”

“Yep. Bummer. You think up a solution to that, and I’m gonna do….my thing. And tell you when I’m ready next. See ya!” They hung up. 

“...Beylock?”

“That was the other power I was talking about.” 

“How did he not get out of the cave sooner!?” 

“We forced him in deeper than he could get out as a dragon...I thought he would die in the cave. And yet…”

“He’s still here.” Catra said. “SO. Dragon thing. Beylock, how do we deal with that?”

“There is a spell that I can use. But it isn’t a guarantee...his magic is just as powerful as mine. If he does turn into a dragon, you have to fight him the way you’d normally fight one.” Beylock said. 

“Has it occurred to you, that, like...dragons were extinct in most of the kingdoms before any of us were even  _ born _ ?” Mermista asked. “We don’t  _ know  _ how one would ‘normally fight a dragon’.”

“A lot of arrows to bring it down, swords, magic, and faith.” 

“Don’t you own a dragon?” Adora asked Beylock.

“Oh, I  _ live  _ with a dragon, but if I told him to go off and fight another dragon, he wouldn’t do it.” He said. “He’s sort of like a house cat…”

“So we just need to hope that he doesn’t manage to turn into a dragon, and if he does, we hope that we can beat him?” Scorpia asked. “That seems...really hope based. Not that it’s a problem, but it’s not quite what I had in mind when I heard the mission objective of ‘save the queen’.”

“Hope?” Mermista scoffed. “These are assumptions.” 

“Assumptions...are what we have.” Adora said. She stood. “We have been through far worse than a dragon and a time limit. We watched our planet almost die, and we saved it. US.” Adora went to the front of the briefing room. 

“If anyone can defeat a dragon, save a princess, get a flower, and race back to Bright Moon in time to save Glimmer, it’s us. This situation seems like a lot. But we can get through it.” Adora leaned on the table. “We’ll do the big planning tomorrow, when DT gets back to us about the location of Setharil. Until then...we just need to be ready for a fight.” 

The rest of the team all looked at Adora. “...we’re in.” Mermista smiled. “This is going to be tough, but...let’s do it.” 

“Can I say it?” Seahawk asked Adora. 

“...Why’re you asking me?”

“Well, I mean, it’s just that last time I tried you cut me off, and-”

“You can say it.” 

“ADVENTURE!” 

* * *

_ “The end.” Angella headed over to Glimmer, and kissed her forehead. “Thank you for being such a good listener, Glimmer.” _

_ “Thanks for reading to me, mom.” She reached up and hugged her, kissing her cheek. “I love you mom!” _

_ “I love you too, sweetheart…” She walked out of the room. Glimmer snuggled into her bed, and went to sleep… _

Glimmer woke up. She saw the old book, still on the sill of the window. She was wrapped in blankets, her body hot but feeling cold, her episodes getting worse. She reached for the book. The door opened. 

“...Adora. Hey.” She smiled. She sat back. “What’s going on?”

“I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

“I’m alright...bored.” She said. “Really bored.” She held Adora’s hand. “Hey, Adora, i wanna thank you for getting this whole save glimmer thing together.” 

“Huh? Oh, sure...I mean it’s something you’d do for me.”

“I would, but...it’s nice to know I have all this support.” 

“You have always had so much support, Glimmer.” Adora hugged her tightly. “We all love you a lot. Some of us more than others.”

“Are you talking about Bow?”

“I’m definitely talking about Bow.” She laughed. “He loves you more than anything.”

“Adora…” She looked down. “Bow and I, we were gonna get m-” 

“Glimmer?” Micah walked in. “Did Adora tell you what we learned tonight at the meeting?” 

“Huh?”

“Oh...never mind, I’m sure when Bow gets up here he’ll talk your ear off about it.” He said. “I’m sorry if I interrupted, Adora, I-”

“No, I was just letting her know we all had her back.” Adora said. “I know we’ve all told her, like...30 times, but good news is nice every once and awhile, right?”

“Yeah.” Glimmer nodded. Adora stood. 

“Catra gets sassy if I’m even 5 minute late to bed, so I gotta go or she’ll tease me all night.” She walked out. “I’ll see you two.”

“So long!” Micah smiled. “You hanging in there?”

“Trying...I dream about mom a lot.” She said. “Is that...normal? If you’re dying?”

“...I’ve only almost died once or twice. All I thought about was your mother and you.” He sighed. “I miss her, too.” 

“I’ll try my best not to meet her...even if it’s tempting.” She tried to joke. 

“Glimmer…” He held her tight. “At least wake up tomorrow, alright?” He asked. “It’s your dating anniversary with Bow, right?” 

“Right.” She said. “Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Even if I’m, y’know, being killed by...ahh…” She gripped Micah. Micah hugged her tightly. “I’m here, Glimmer, I’m here…”

“It’s...it’s getting worse.” She said. 

“We’ll make sure it ends with you alive, okay?” He laid her back down when she was ready. “I love you, Glimmer.” 

“I love you too.” 

Micah left. Glimmer nestled in. She hoped to see mom in her dreams again soon...she always liked those dreams. 


	6. The Sleuth and the Silent Princess

Double Trouble shifted into Bjorlam, and walked to the throne of Lurunosek. “It is done, my lord. Castaspella has been poisoned effectively.” 

“Good...good.” Lurunosek stood. “I will have another job for you, friend...but not yet. I must complete the plans for it.” He walked off. “You will rest.” 

DT nodded, and walked around the cave. They saw some very...ghastly things. Lurunosek ruled by fear, and planned to rule by it. So rooms full of magically enlarged spiders, tortured victims, and other such things, were common finds. They shuddered as they passed a room with some...awful screams coming from it. 

They came across some cells, as well. Looked like prison cells. Some notable people in here, actually, even a few from the ball a few nights earlier, mostly politicians. They kept looking. A guard stopped them. 

“Bjorlam?”

“Yes?” They asked. 

“What...brings you here?” 

“I wish to see the Silent Princess.” They said. “Now, preferably, I am almost on leave again to do another mission.” They looked impatient. 

“...of course. Right this way, friend.” They walked. 

“Did you see Glimmer?” The guard asked. 

“Yes.” They said. They smirked. “I must admit, she isn’t in a great way...I hear she writhes in pain sometimes.”

“Ha!” The guard laughed, sitting behind his mask. “That’s nice to hear...does she slip from time to time?”

“Oh, of course. It ought to be getting worse by now. I hear they have a magician trying to heal her.” 

“As if it would work. We took care of that with the Silent one, huh?”

“Oh, of course! Rather clever of Lurunosek...he always was clever.”

“Indeed.” 

They came across the cell...it was bare, save for her, still in a nice seeming dress, caked with dirt. She looked as if her eyes were too dry to cry anymore.

She was blonde, with violet eyes, and small freckles. 

She was probably the most beautiful woman Double Trouble had ever seen. 

“They say she’s an aspect of Mylian...where’s your goddess now, eh?” The guard rattled the cage. 

“If you don’t mind, I’d like a moment alone with her.” Double Trouble spoke. 

“Ahh...of course.” The guard left. As soon as he was out of earshot, Double Trouble took off the mask, and shifted into themselves. “You’re Setharil?”

“...you should know that by now.” Her voice was soft, a whisper. 

“I just need to make sure. I’m going to try and break you out of here but we need a bit more time.” 

“Break me out?” She asked. “It’s impossible, there’s too many of them, I-”

“Setharil.” DT held her hands through the bars. “All we ask in return is a Darmath Nightshade from your garden.”

“When we get out, it’s yours. How...how will it work?”

“Friends of mine are mounting an attack soon.” They drooped their ears. “The queen of Brightmoon is dying and they need a flower from your garden to heal her.”

“Hence the Darmath.” 

“Yes.” DT put the mask on, and shifted back. “I have to go so I can tell them what to do and where you are...then we’re going to come for you, okay?”

“Alright.” Setharil smiled, and kissed her hand, putting it on Double Trouble’s cheek. 

“Thank you, friend.”

“All in a day’s work, princess.’ They stood, stretched, and walked away. 

As they walked away, they walked with the guard from before. 

“How was the Casta job?”

“Easy. She was still in Bright Moon, made it back without even knowing she’d been poisoned.”

“How’d you do it?” He asked. 

“Simple. Disguise myself as someone else, just another servant around the castle. After ‘checking up’ on Glimmer, I figured it was time to strike, I bumped her in the hallway, and it was done.”

“You’re amazing at this stuff, Bjorlam. You know that?”

“I try.” They said, walking forward. “I’m famished…”

“I’m heading to get some more food, if you’d like to join me?” 

“I figure I’ve earned a bit of food, yes…”

They both walked to what looked like a mead hall, cut into the mouth of the cave. The masks exposed the mouth, so DT didn’t bother to take it off. They ate a bit, looking around. 

“What’ll you do when we rule the world, huh?” Someone asked them.

“I dunno. I suppose whatever I feel like…”

“I’ll probably run a town.” The other said. “People will probably treat me right then.”

“What do you mean, they didn’t treat you right before?” DT asked. 

“Of course not. Noone  _ ever  _ treats the wealthy right. Not the poors, not the merchants...aristocracy should be respected.”

Double Trouble had a hard time understanding where the man was coming from. Really?  _ This  _ was the hill he was going to die on?

“What’s the matter with how they treat you?”

“Well, in Bright Moon, you all have it so easy...Plumeria’s different. We don’t even  _ have  _ lords anymore. Used to, back in the good old days...now we’re just rich with the same vote as everyone else.”

“Huh.” 

“It  _ pisses me off. _ Why even let the commoners vote?”

Another man scoffed. “As if Perfuma couldn’t veto everything entirely?”

“Hah! That airhead couldn’t even spell veto right, I bet.” He laughed. “If the lords were still in charge, we’d do what’s right, instead of support all these other nations. All anyone wants is the grain we need...they’re bleeding us dry!” This was untrue, certainly; the amount of farming in Plumeria made it practically impossible for them to run out of reserves, even if they increased foreign trade. 

Double Trouble sighed and ate a bit more. Eventually, they got up. “I must see Lurunosek. He says he’ll have another job for me.” They got up silently and walked. 

Lurunosek sat on his throne. “...Bjorlam.” He smiled, and crossed his legs. “Are you ready for your next task, friend?” 

“I’m ready.” They said. 

“...Perfuma, the ruler of Plumeria. She has access to the Graethites, and any siege against her kingdom would last far too long. We must go for the head first. Either poison her, or kill her, or bring her here…” He smirked evilly. “Though, if you can put her under our control...we will have gained a powerful ally.” 

“My lord...it shall be done. She shall be ours.” 

“Good.” Lurunosek sat down. “Now go.” He pointed to the entrance of the cave. “Do your duty.” 

A pause. 

“Yes, my lord.” 

* * *

“You got all of that, right?” DT asked, sitting by the river, looking at their communicator. “Everything?”

“I got it, yeah...this is some bad stuff we’re getting mixed in with.” Bow sighed. “There’s...a lot of them, huh?” 

“Yep.” 

“And he can still turn into a dragon?” 

“Sure can.” DT sighed. “I dunno about this one...you all have fun planning it, but that’s not gonna be my can of worms right now. I’m heading back to Bright Moon, a riverboat’s going down the Zoln, and it’s with the current. Should be there later tonight.” They said. “See you then.”

“Likewise.” Bow cut communications. He sat back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, and looked across the table. He didn’t see everyone. Just Catra, and Adora. Adora sighed. “So, dragon thing! A dragon. He can turn into a dragon.”

“Yep.”

“ _ Dragon _ .”

“Mhm.”

“I mean, I figure we’re gonna be alright, for the most part. Except that most people’s weakness here is, as Netossa pointed out, fire.” Catra stood. “If we’re gonna do this, it needs to be quick. In, out. We can take care of the dragon guy later.”

“We’re just going to leave the rest of it to fate?” 

“What else can we do?” Catra asked. “Sure, ranged attacks and all that, but fire is pretty much the group’s biggest weakness! Perfuma’s stuff will burn, Frosta’s will melt, and, oh, yeah! He’s a DRAGON! We can’t deal with that right now.”

“Catra,” Adora looked over at her, holding her hand, “maybe we just need to think about it a little differently. We have to do a bit of lateral strategy here. Bow, if you get the potion, then we might be able to get him before he changes!”

“What if he changes before Bow gets it?”

“Well, then maybe we get it while he’s the dragon. Or maybe it falls off of him?”

“True...it would probably fall off of him. So if he turns before hand the vial might be forfeit.”

“Then we just need to focus on that.” Bow said. “...wait. DT mentioned there were a lot of them, going in and getting him fast isn’t going to work.”

“Then we need numbers.” 

“Well, the area’s remote enough that the only way up is a river skiff.” Bow pointed to the map. “So we’ll have to do it with...I guess the princesses, Roke, Beylock, and Seahawk?”

“What about Micah?” Catra asked. “Or is he gonna stay home with Glimmer?”

“He probably has to stay here, yeah.” Adora said. 

“...so we’ll need to make a plan. We’ll get that done tomorrow.” 

“We already have a plan.”

“No, we have an  _ outline. _ ” Bow said. “We need a  _ plan _ .” 

“I mean, the outline has been enough before, but-”

“Glimmer’s LIFE is on the line! We need to make sure we get Setharil secure, get enough room to take out Lurunosek, and keep enough people alive. And we need to do it fast. It needs more than an outline.” Bow was visibly frustrated, which was mostly exacerbated by the situation involving Glimmer. 

"Then we’ll plan tomorrow.” Catra rolled her eyes. “Yeesh.” 

* * *

Adora and Catra walked back to their room. Catra looked a little...upset. 

“Catra, what’s wrong?”

“Bow’s planning too much. We’re gonna stumble over ourselves.” She said. 

“I mean, Glimmer’s involved, he’s always been protective, but...now he’s got even more reason to be.” Adora said. “If you were kidnapped, I’d want a plan to save you.”

“But she  _ isn’t  _ kidnapped! This isn’t the rebellion anymore. We don’t have to do this with just princesses.”

“Well, I mean, you’ve seen where we’re going on the map, right?”

“...” Catra shrugged. “I’m anxious to get going.” She said. “I don’t know how long Glimmer has. It’s just a bit frightening.” 

“Hey, Catra,” Adora held her by her waist, and kissed her gently, letting her purr a bit. “I know you’re nervous. But the best thing we can do right now is to be prepared. In a few hours, we’ll get everyone together after dinner, and we’ll be ready.” 

“If you say so.” Catra washed up a bit, and got ready. Dinner would be soon...and after that? 

_ Planning. _


	7. Plans of Attack

Roke was the first one to get to the planning room, other than Double Trouble. DT smiled at them. “Hey there, Roke. How’re you?”

“Fine.”

“Say, a question...if I shifted into you, would I get good at swordplay?”

“Huh?”

“Well, I was just thinking, since you’re, like, the chosen one or whatever-”

“I wasn’t chosen.” Roke blinked a few times. “Don’t say that.”

“Oh, c’mon. The only one who lived wasn’t chosen?”

“I wasn’t chosen.” 

“Well, either way, would I be good with swords?”

“I dunno.” Roke said. “How does it work? Do you get good at other stuff?”

“I find that if I shift into a chef, I get better at cooking? Maybe that’s psychological though. Like, thinking I’m a chef, makes me more confident, which makes me a little better at something?” 

“It’s worth a shot at some point.” 

Others filed into the planning room; Seahawk, Mermista, Adora, Catra, Scorpia, Frosta, and Beylock all shuffled in and sat around the table. Perfuma was the last to get there. 

“So!” Adora sat herself in front of a map of the area. “Here’s the deal. Perfuma, Double Trouble, you two are going to get back there, and secure Setharil. Once you're there, you’ll make sure she’s okay, and Double Trouble will communicate that you’re secure. THEN, we need to work with some strategy here.”

Perfuma raised her hand. “Am I acting like I’m being captured, or…”

“You’re acting like you’re turning over the kingdom, because the terror attacks have been too much. I wanna see a bit of fear, but a lot of disappointment. Like you’ve given up.” Double Trouble stated. Perfuma worked on a few faces. “...like this?”

“Wow, that’s perfect! Good. Good stuff.” DT nodded. “We’ll get going before they do just to get there ahead of time.” 

“Wonderful!” Perfuma leaned on Scorpia. “So what about the rest of you?”

“This is where we need to make some tough decisions. As we know, by now, Lurunosek can turn into a dragon. So we need to make some contingency plans. First, Mermista and Frosta, you won’t be fighting the dragon too much. Mermista might be using water from the Zoln to try and keep fires out, but even with water it’s pretty hard to stop those things.”

“I can, like...take out some guys and make it easier to fight the dragon? I’m pretty amazing, though, so we’ll see.” 

Frosta raised her hand. “Can I still fight?”

“Yes. You two are going to keep the actual order members distracted.” Adora said. “Now, the ones who’ll be actually fighting the dragon are Bow, Beylock, and me as She-Ra.” She said. “Roke and Catra will help with Frosta and Mermista.”

“Wait, why aren’t I helping with the Dragon?” Catra asked. 

“Your claws can’t reach a dragon.” 

“They could probably get in under its scales.” She harrumphed. Adora held her hand. “I’m sure they could, lovely, I’m sure they could.”

“Suppose Bow hits the vial and kills him?” 

“Then we all focus on making sure Setharil gets out safely.” 

“How do we get to the Hillscape?” 

“We...can workshop that? A little?” Adora asked. “Beylock can teleport right?”

“Not like Glimmer. I will have to use an awful lot of magic to fight against Lurunosek...we are close to the border, though.” 

“We would be close, yeah.” Adora thought a moment. “If we had a way to fly there…”

“Did  _ someone  _ say SWIFT WIND!?” Trotting through the door, yes, actually  _ through  _ the door, came Swift Wind. “I was casually walking by and not listening to all of this through the wall when I thought I heard someone say something about speed!”

“SWIFT WIND DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THE DOORS ARE!?” Bow was about ready to snap. 

“What Bow  _ means  _ is, yes, you would be helpful in getting Setharil and someone else to the palace in the hillscape.” Adora said. 

“I’ll go with Beylock and Setharil.” Roke said. “Beylock might be a little spent afterward, and they’ll need some sort of guard there.” 

“Thank you, Roke.” Beylock smiled and patted his shoulder. “It will be dangerous...I’m sure they’ll find a way to make chase.” 

“Eh, they can’t really fly, can they?” 

“Sure hope not! I haven’t exactly been...as fast as usual...with the whole war thing being over.” Swift Wind said. 

“Well, you’re faster than scaling a mountain.” Roke said. “So we’ve got that going for us.” 

“Aren’t the Graethites good at horses?” Swift Wind asked. 

“I mean...we ride them pretty regularly, but-this isn’t about that. We need a plan if Bow gets hurt and can’t work his arrows.”

“Well,” Beylock took off his hat, “I suppose I could distract him. He will not be able to resist a fight with me. Then, perhaps, magic or a closer attack would suffice.” 

“Good.” Bow said. “We have to be ready for that.” 

“And if all else fails?”

“Then we lose.” Adora said. “It is...unlikely that we’ll accomplish both tasks.” Adora said. “We have two goals, but if one has to take the majority of our attention, then it’ll have to. If Setharil dies, then...we defeat Lurunosek. If we can’t beat him, we regroup and get it done later.” 

“This sounds...risky.” Scorpia said. “Really risky. And we have, like, 2 mystical chosen ones or something.”

“2?”

“Yeah, Roke and Adora.” Roke kind of...turned away at that. He didn't say anything, but it was clear he wasn't a fan of Scorpia's choice of words there.

“Sometimes we have to take risks.” Adora said. “We took risks all the time with the Horde. We can take risks here, too.” 

“Still,” Seahawk said, “These are some...fairly steep risks! Either Glimmer dies or we have another Horde war situation on our hands!”

“We won once.” Adora said. 

“Barely.” Mermista muttered back at her. 

A silence fell over the room. 

Perfuma stood up. “We can’t give up like that. We have to shoot for both. We  _ can  _ save Glimmer AND defeat Lurunosek. It’s not like they’re mutually exclusive!” She leaned on the table. “We survived when the entire planet was taken over. Frosta, Mermista, and I? We lost everything. Our parents...our kingdoms...our livelihoods. I  _ Won’t  _ let that happen again. It can  _ never  _ happen again. But with this sort of attitude, it will.” 

Scorpia stood too. “Perfuma’s right. We have a big task ahead of us, but we’ve been through much worse. This’ll be a walk in the park!” She said. “Now, we have our contingency plans. We have our groups, and our lines of attack. We even have little name tags!”

“Name tags?” Adora furrowed a brow. Perfuma smiled brightly. 

“I made them last night!” They were little patches, with cute faces on them. “Well, I did the art, Entrapta actually...nevermind that!” She shook her head and blushed. “What’s important is that we have a job to do. All of us. We need to be in as much as we can be. That’s the way we win!” Instead of applause, or cheers, Perfuma got one thing in return. 

“...Let’s do this.” Mermista stood. Then Frosta, then Beylock and Roke and everyone else in the room. It was less remarkable when Swift wind stood, as...well, he’d been standing, but nevermind all that. 

“So it’s settled. DT, Perfuma, you two leave sometime tonight. Frosta and Mermista, you two are incredibly powerful, so you’ll be the first to strike. Catra, Roke, you both and I will follow them in. OUR main focus is keeping BOW safe. Beylock, you enter, and make sure Lurunosek is kept in line. Bow, make that shot. If the dragon comes out, then we’ll face him with Bow’s...bow, and Beylock’s magic. Roke will help get Setharil and DT out of the place and into the Hillscape. Once they’re defeated, we’ll return.” 

“Sounds good to me.” Catra said. “Any questions?”

None. 

“Great. Rest up. We’re leaving tomorrow at 7. DT and Perfuma, there’s a riverboat that leaves at 12. Get to the port district.” Perfuma kissed Scorpia softly. 

“I’ll be back.” She placed a flower in Scorpia’s hand. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” She kissed her once more. “You get ready to go. And stay safe! We’ll come for you.”

“Let’s get to setting up.” Adora said. “I’ll see you all in the morning.” 

* * *

Roke walked the halls again that night. He heard familiar footsteps. 

“Roke?” It was Perfuma. Perfuma smiled as he turned to face her. “You should be sleeping right now.”

“I’m fine, Castle needs guards.” He said. The shoulder cape on his left shoulder fluttered a bit as wind came through an open window. In an awkward moment of silence, Perfuma tried to make some sort of conversation.

“I didn’t know you were left handed.” She said. “Unless you’re wearing the sword there for a different reason.” 

Roke looked down. “Ope. Yeah, I’m a lefty.” Roke and Perfuma met regularly. Roke was a sort of ambassador for the new Graethites, and being that they were based in Plumeria, he was in her court a lot. “Are you ready?” He asked. 

“I suppose I am. I don’t know what’ll happen.” She responded with a bit of a smile. Roke grabbed something from off his belt. It was a little dagger. “This can be pretty easily hidden under your dress. You’d just wrap it across your leg, like a garter, or...something.” 

“I see! It’ll be useful if I need it.” She said. “Roke, thank you for all of this. You don’t need to get tied up in this whole thing.” 

“Well, I mean, it’d be pretty reckless  _ not  _ to go in my case.” He chuckled a bit, an obvious tinge of nervousness contaminating the laughter. “It’s a big challenge, even for a Graethite.” 

“But aren’t you  _ the  _ Graethite?” She asked. 

“There’s more of us now.” His breath hitched. 

“But you must’ve been chosen by-”

“ _ I wasn’t chosen. _ ” He spoke firmly, with a firmness he almost never spoke with. He choked up a bit. “When Abbot Lorkus was moving artifacts, I...I was the youngest one left alive. He told me to go. I begged to stay, but he forced me. He  _ kicked me out of a window. _ ” He had a few tears coming from his eyes. “I hate being this stupid ‘chosen one’ figure because I  _ lived. _ I’m not any better than the others then or the others now! I wouldn’t have even been  _ considered  _ chosen if I wasn’t unlucky enough to see everyone around me die! I was just supposed to be a damned TEMPLE GUARD!” He huffed a bit, his breaths shakier as images of his dead friends littered his mind...images of returning to Sword Rock with Markalus. It...hurt him. 

“I wasn’t chosen. There just wasn’t any other choice.” He caught his breath. “I’m sorry, it’s just-”

Perfuma hugged him. “It’s a soft spot. I know.” She said. “And I’m sorry I struck it.” She patted his back. 

“I-I just don’t want to be called special. I’m not. I’m...part of something. And that something is bigger than I am and I’m okay with that.” 

“Well, Roke…” She pulled away from the hug. “You’re a Graethite. But a really skilled one at that. And I think that even though it’ll be hard, and even though you weren’t chosen to do what you did, or chosen to do any of this now...you’d be my choice.” She patted his shoulder, a familiar Graethite show of respect. He patted hers.

“Stay safe.” 

“I will.” 

Roke walked the halls a while longer, then saw Bow. He waved at him. “Heading somewhere, Bow?”

“Yeah.” He said. He had a few boxes. “Just going to see Glimmer.”


	8. Hoping

Glimmer had been getting worse. 

The slips in and out of consciousness weren’t regular, but they were certainly more notable. She was having some trouble breathing as well...it felt like an incredibly bad flu, like something was trying to strangle her from the inside out. She still slept with Bow, but she knew that he didn’t like seeing her like this. She knew he was on edge.

She wasn’t sure about living much longer. 

Bow walked into the room. He carried two small boxes with him. He sat at the edge of her bed, and opened one. 

Rings for engagement weren’t a common gift in Bright Moon. Maybe in Mystacor, but not here. Here, it had to do with articles of clothing, and Bow and Glimmer had secretly traded a necklace each. But the rings were a suggestion from Glimmer. After all, her parents had them, so she wanted them, too. The rings had come late. They’d been engaged for months. 

They’d’ve told everyone today. 

“...Bow…” Glimmer huffed out the words. 

“Hey, Glimmer.” Bow slipped one of the rings onto her finger. She smiled meekly. 

“Thank you.” She held his hand. “I...I understand if you want to be somewhere else tonight.” 

“Glimmer, I’m not leaving you right now.” He got dressed to sleep, and nestled in with her. He wasn’t under the covers, wanting to keep her as comfortable as he could, while making sure she didn’t overheat. 

“Do you have a plan?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be tight though…” Bow said. “I don’t know how little time it’ll take.” He kissed the back of her neck, and put an arm around her side. 

“I don’t know...if I’ll live.”

“Don’t say that.” Bow said. 

“ _ Bow. _ ” She looked at him. “We have to be ready for that.” She was heaving in air as she turned to him. “I need you to be ready for that. Who else is going to take the throne?”

“Glimmer, I can’t rule without you.” 

“You could.”

“Don’t talk like that!” Bow held her tight to him. “Please...don’t say stuff like that.” He looked her in the eye. “We’re going to go tomorrow, get Setharil, and get you what you need. I can’t say how quick we’ll be but I promise you we will be as quick as we can be.”

“Thanks, Bow.” She smiled. She didn’t see a positive way of spinning this. She was dying. She felt like she was going to die. 

“Bow, I’m glad we’re engaged.” She held his hand. “I’m glad I’m with you. I’m just very glad, even right now.” She wasn’t. She was seething with rage, seething that after years of living through war, no father, then no mother, seeing her nation collapse before her, and losing everything she loved, that she was going to die after a year of peace. 

She was angry that Bow would have to leave her. She was angry that she couldn’t do anything about it. She felt upset. Bow could sense that. 

“...You’re angry.” 

“I’m very angry.” She said. “I got a year to be alive. The rest was all war.”

“There were good moments.” Bow said. “You have to hang on to the good moments.” Bow tried to paint a smile on his face. 

“Bow,” Glimmer shook her head, “Those moments have a pretty bad tinge on them. The whole...war...thing.” She said. “It’s not easy to remember things like taking back that fort or the fun parts of princess prom. There was a war on. It’s like spilling water, it spreads to everything.”

“Glimmer, I-”

“I wanted more time.” She raised her voice. “I wanted teenage years that I never got. I wanted young adulthood that I never got. I wanted to be the queen of a peaceful kingdom and I  _ never  _ got that.” 

“You’ve got me, here, now, in this bed.” Bow firmly spoke. “And I know that seems so small.” He sat up, and held her to his chest. “But I am going to do everything I can to give you everything. I want all of those things too. I don’t want them  _ without  _ you there along for the ride.” 

“Bow, when I tell you to be ready, I-I’m not telling you to...ah…” She slipped. She held onto him, tight, leaving marks on his skin. “I’m not telling you to be sure I’m going to die. I want you to do everything you can. I know you  _ will _ .” She smiled.

“I just want you to be ready for it in case it happens. Pray for the best, expect the worst, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” He kissed her forehead. “When we get out of this, the wedding’s going to be the biggest in Bright Moon’s history.”

“Yeah?”

“Yep. Nation wide celebrations, a massive ceremony, every princess is gonna be there,” 

“Lots of cake, I’m assuming?”

“Loads. As much as we can fit into the courtyard.”

“Sounds like a lot of cake.”

“Definitely.” He kissed her. “And I’m going to be in the most brilliant clothes I can find...all sorts of different colors, exotic fabrics, everything.”

“That iridescent stuff. I need a dress with iridescent fabric.”

“They make that in Salineas. Once this all blows over it’ll be easy to get fitted.”

“Maybe not  _ right  _ after, I’ve probably lost a lot of water weight.” She looked down. 

“Maybe, maybe. There’ll be music, there’ll be portraits of us, everything will be as wonderful as it can be.”

“Right after, I’m going to get up, and go to the throne room.” She said. “I’m gonna walk there on my own, with real clothes on, and I’m going to rule.”

“Yes you are.” Bow smiled down at her. “And you’re gonna kill it out there.”

“I am.” She laid herself back down. “When do you leave tomorrow morning?” She asked. 

“Early in the morning. I might beat you to waking up.”

“That’d be a first.” She kissed him softly. “I love you. I love you so much, Bow, and I know that no matter what you’re going to do everything you can to help. It’s what you always do.”

“I love you, too. And I know you’re going to do the one thing you always do, too.”

“And that is?”

“Be stubborn and fight.” 

“Yep. I promise I’ll keep fighting. I was never going to stop.”

“Of course you weren’t.” He giggled. “Sleep well, love.”

“I will.”

* * *

“Think how much it must  _ suck  _ to be Scorpia right now.” Catra said. “Your girlfriend’s gonna go get captured so we can defend some princess who never talks, and she’s being accompanied by a spy who never shuts up?” She shook her head. “Has to be at least a little upsetting.”

“Catra,” Adora was getting ready for bed, undoing her hair and slipping into her underwear, as it was pretty warm out tonight, “I don’t know if this is the best time for a joke like that.”

“I know.” Catra was already in bed, waiting for Adora. Adora slinked in next to her. “We have an early morning tomorrow, Catra.” Adora sighed. “I guess we better try and actually get to bed at some point, huh?”

Catra laughed. “You mean we can’t sit up all night and talk?”

“Yes. I mean that.” Adora kissed her deeply, then pulled away. “I worry about all of this.”

“What, the dragon, the fact that your best friend could die, or both?”

“Both.” Adora’s smile faded from her face, and Catra’s did too. “I just...I don’t want anyone to die or anything.” She said. “It’d kill me.”

“Adora, I have a hard time thinking anyone dies. The worst case scenario is that we leave him in the cave to fight him another day when we have a bit more manpower at our disposal.” She said. “It’s not like we  _ have  _ to do both. Our priorities right now should be Setharil and Glimmer.”

“But what about-”

“Adora, we need to prioritize.” Catra said. “Heroism is good. Heroism saves people. YOU save people. But right now we need a mixture of heroism  _ and  _ common sense. If it’s too much, we regroup and deal with him when we can.”

“What if something happens, though? What if I need to do something rash?”

“What, you’re gonna sacrifice yourself or something?” 

“Well….I thought maybe if I had to, I-”

“Adora, you aren’t sacrificing yourself. You shouldn’t even  _ have  _ to, there’s going to be, like…” She counted on her hands, “8 of us, 10 counting DT and Perfuma.”

“11, Swift Wind.”

“What, is he gonna trample people?”

“You would be amazed.” Adora smiled gently. “I just...I always felt like my fate was sacrifice. I felt like my fate was death; that’s what being She-Ra meant.” She said. “Now when I have to be her again, I guess those thoughts start to creep back in.”

“I’m not saying don’t try, Adora.” Catra purred. “I’m saying don’t get yourself killed. You have so much support for all of this. We’re all behind you, just...act like it.” 

“That’s a very you way of saying that, Catra, thanks.” She laughed a bit. 

Catra huffed. “W-What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

“ _ Then act like it!”  _ Adora spoke in a mocking voice. “So angry at me for something like that!”

“Shut up!” Catra growled. Adora kissed her cheek. 

“Sorry, Catra, it was funny.”

“...it was pretty funny I’ll admit.”

“Sleep well, Catra, alright?” Adora snuggled into Catra and held her close. 

“Wake me up when it’s time to go and try to be quiet on the riverboat, I’m gonna get more sleep en route.”

“Whatever you say.” 

* * *

“NAME.” The guard said.    


“...friend, it’s Bjorlam!” DT smiled back. “I have a new guest of honor.”

“Ahh...is this the weak one?”

“They’re  _ all  _ the weak one.” They walked into the cave, and faced Lurunosek. 

“...Perfuma…” Lurunosek got closer. He cupped her chin. “I see you’ve come to see my side of things?”

“I...I didn’t want to end up like Glimmer or Castaspella.” 

“Of course you didn’t. You may be feeble minded, but you’re not fully gone.” he walked back to his throne. 

“Do you know the true power of Lurunosek?”

“...no…” Perfuma looked down, looking defeated. 

Lurunosek coughed, and spread his arms. He grunted and yelled in pain, before his body became larger, and his limbs extended to wings and legs, his neck expanding, and his skin turning to dark, boney scales. “BEHOLD!” He breathed fire. “YOUR TRUE RULER! He laughed a hearty, maniacal laugh, and slowly turned back into himself. He huffed, and sat back, shivering a bit. “Oh….i-it is a painful process, but a useful one…” He smirked. “It will be useful in burning your puny kingdom to the ground!”

“Y-you’ll never defeat all of Plumeria!”

“With you gone?” He snapped his fingers. “We already have.” With the finger snap, two guards approached her, and she and DT walked to the dungeon. “I will take her from here,” DT said. 

“Yes, Bjorlam.” The guards left the two alone in the dungeon...DT shifted back to themselves. They walked down the hallway. 

“She’s down here.” They walked, and found...her. Setharil. She was up against the bars. “You’ve come back...are you here to rescue me?”

Perfuma smiled and held her hand through the bars. “We’re almost ready. Our friends need to come and help us out.” She said. “But as long as you’re with us, you’re secure. Double Trouble is always full of excuses and ways to get around certain things.”

“It’d take a miracle for those guards to come up with a situation I haven’t got a good excuse for.” 

“Thank you, so much!” Setharil squeezed Perfuma’s hand. “I’m weaker, I may need help getting out.”

“We’ll do what we need to to get you to your kingdom. And the flower.”

“Of course.” She said. “I will do the best I can to get there quickly when the time comes.” Setharil stood, shakily, and leaned against the bars, her violet eyes looking into Perfuma’s. “Promise me you will help me?”

“We promise.” Perfuma said. “Now, just stay positive...we’re going to get out, and we’re going to get out alive.” 

Double Trouble knew they’d get out, hell or high water. But whether or not it would all go as planned...that just had to wait. 


	9. The Battle of Erlhest

The riverboat was rough, but not too bad. Mermista was taking some liberties with the direction of the current, taking them a little faster using surprisingly little of her power. Water powers were useful on a planet that was mostly made up of...well...water. 

Catra stirred awake as the boat rocked over a few waves. The shore looked much closer here than it did a while ago. They must’ve been making good headway up the river. She got dressed and ready, looking out the window. Today could go any number of ways. 

“Hey, Catra,” Adora’s hand ran up and down Catra’s arm, “You’re up early.”

“You are, too.”

“Well…” Adora sat up, and got out of bed, putting her hair up and got herself as mentally ready as she could. She held Catra from behind. 

“Tell me it’ll be okay.” She said. 

“You’re usually the one who does that.” Catra turned her head and kissed her softly. “We’re gonna do everything we can, like I’ve been saying since this started.” She turned around. “We both need air...who knew river boats could get so stuffy?”

“It’s pretty humid.” Adora walked out after her. “It’s a river, after all.”

Out on the deck, Bow was practicing. A target with a small silver square on it. He was aiming for the square. Seahawk smiled when he hit it.

“Ah! Wonderful! That’s...15 hits out of how many tries?”

“30.” Bow said, dryly, getting the arrow back. He’d never been in transit to a battle like this. It gave him more time to think than he was used to. Glimmer always just jumped into things. He thought for a moment about her...their childhood, the scars of years of warring, had they ever really known a world without a war in it? Did either of them?

He missed. 15/31 shots. 

“Damn.” He went to get the arrow, as Adora and Catra got onto the deck of the ship. 

It was a smaller skiff, with quarters for a dozen or so people, meaning some, notably Roke, Beylock, and Scorpia, had shared with crew members. The current was favorable, and the now open banks left more room for winds, which meant the oar crew had time to get some rest. 

“Morning, Bow.” Adora said. She smiled gently at him...he didn’t smile back. He had a lot on his mind. 

“Morning.” He walked to them and looked out. “Gonna be sunny, at least.” He said. 

“Thinking about Glimmer?”

“More than usual.” Bow looked down. “I guess the reasoning is pretty obvious, huh?”

Catra nodded, and scratched the back of her neck. “We’re with you on that one.” Catra walked over to the bow and looked out, calling back to Bow. “We’re definitely getting closer to the mountains. We haven’t got much time left for the voyage.” 

“Alright. I assume we’re walking a bit so they don’t see a giant ship coming up to them?”

“Assuming so.” Catra said. “You can see the windbreak for the cave coming up pretty soon. Man, they did a really crap job of hiding it.” Catra crossed her arms. “Seahawk, we’re getting off here and walking.”

“I’ll get her closer to the bank.” He did so, promptly, by...signalling the crew to get the thing closer to the bank. 

As the crew got the gangplank set and got everything ready, Adora met with everyone on the team. 

“Today will be tough. As tough as the Horde was at the end.” She said. “We’re facing an enemy we don’t know, to get a princess we barely know to a garden to get a flower that we don’t know the properties of. There’s a lot of uncertainty here.”

The team looked blankly back. Adora changed to She Ra. 

“The only thing that’s certain is that we’re getting Setharil OUT. She’s priority one. Divert guards away from Bow, but also make sure they don’t get to Swift Wind, or Setharil. You  _ have  _ to make sure they get out alive if we’re going to save Glimmer.”

“This seems bleak. I know. But I also know that we’ve faced far worse, and made it through alive. We can do this! I  _ know  _ we can!” She smirked with determination. “We have everything going for us. Every advantage we can get. Let’s get this done.”

The group was mostly quiet, but they all seemed ready to go. They needed to be quiet, lest the element of surprise be lost to them. They got a message on the communicator. 3 knocks. DT, Perfuma, and Setharil were safe. They headed for the cave, with Roke, Frosta, and Mermista taking point. 

They got to the mouth of the cave, and saw two guards. Seemed reasonable to keep guards out there. Frosta looked to She Ra.

She Ra nodded. 

Frosta froze the two guards, and they rushed the front. All of the princesses rushing in short order, with Beylock bringing up the rear. It was definitely a frightening sight...some of the men just threw down arms and ran for the hills. Some, though, stayed and fought. 

Lurunosek saw this and immediately stood to try and transform. He was knocked off of his throne by a blast of wind from Beylock. 

“Ahh...beylock...I should have known you would be here to lose again!”

“Lurunosek…” Beylock struck him again, this time with lightning. “The only one who will lose today is you!” He pushed Lurunosek into a corner. 

“The prisoners...the prisoners!” One of the men shouted, and headed down a hallway. Roke looked at Catra. 

“We have to follow him, we need to keep them safe!” He said. 

“Better than this!” Catra clawed the face of another one and shoved him to the ground, as she followed Roke. 

* * *

Adora cleaved one order member’s arm right off of him, and kicked another to the ground. She used a wave of magic from the sword to cast several back into the wall or onto the floor of the cave. She was done playing around, that was certain. 

“Bow, stay near me, tell me where I need to go.” She said. Her main goal was to keep Bow with a clear and easy shot at the vial. 

“Left...left!” He said. The two moved left as she fought several away. 

Just feet from them, Frosta and Mermista were making a good team, forming an ice wall around Bow’s left flank, as Scorpia managed to keep his right side secure using not much more than her muscle and skill as a fighter. She grunted and crouched. One got too close, and hit her with a warhammer. She looked up in time to see him just about ready to strike. As he was about to, he let the hammer fall to the ground beside him, grabbed his crotch, and fell. 

“Scorpia!” 

“...Seahawk?” She got up and picked up someone behind him, just throwing him across the room. 

“Of course, friend! We’ve got the right side, yes?”

“I mean, I was doing okay by myself until the hammer guy came up, but...sure! Why not?” The two fought off a few more. Bow was trying, but failing to land the shot. They would have to move sometimes. 

“I know what you’re trying, beylock.” Lurunosek wheezed out the words, starting to grow tired. 

“You know that it will work, then, don’t you?” Beylock increased the push from his magic, as their opposing energies met in the middle, the fight between them always ebbing towards one winning and one losing...but they both could tell that one of them would have to crack. 

They couldn’t risk it being Beylock.

* * *

“Bjorlam! Bjorlam, we’re being attacked!”

“I know.” Double Trouble took off the mask, and the robes, before shifting back into themself. “Isn’t that a shame?” They roundhouse kicked one of the prison guards, and Perfuma raised some moss from the cave and grew it, making a few more guards slip and fall. 

“Here’s the keys.” DT grabbed them off someone and got the two out of the cells, but...looked up. 

“Damn…” They blinked. “You guys move fast, huh?”

“We do.” 12 heavily armed prison guards stood between them and the exit. Then...a familiar voice. 

“Swiftwind, slow down, we’re IN A CAVE!”   


“Catra?”

Swiftwind tumbled into the guards. Catra and Roke were thrown aside. Catra got up first. “DT, the riverboat is down the Zoln a half mile, but circle around on Swift Wind until we’re ready with Beylock. Setharil goes with you.”

“Alright…” Setharil got on Swiftwind, holding on to DT. “Perfuma, we need you in the main battle, so  _ get there.  _ Roke-”

Roke got up, and suddenly fought off a prison guard. He fought off another one. Catra was past them. “Go! They’re distracted!”

“Wha-” Catra looked behind her, to the entrance. 

“GO!” Roke called. He fought off a few more, but...this would be tricky. His sword was bloodied, and he looked as if he could handle himself at least long enough for Catra to get out. “I can take them, they’re easy enough, just get out of here!”

Catra ran. She got to the main chamber, where the fight was. “BOW! How is it!?”

“Not...great.”

Beylock and Lurunosek were both starting to struggle, as Swiftwind left the cave with DT and Setharil. Beylock couldn’t leave yet...he was needed. 

“Your friend is breaking….Beylock, just give up, like you did 500 years ago!” Lurunosek laughed. “Or would you see all of your friends die a second time?”

“I’d see  _ myself  _ die if it meant the end of  _ you _ , Lurunosek!” He increased his power, but couldn’t for long. 

Bow couldn’t wait. He knew it. 

He took another shot. He knew it wouldn’t make it. He knew they’d failed. 

But he wasn’t going to stop trying. 

* * *

_ “Bow?” Glimmer was sitting in her room, the night after the ball. There was no strange mark, no weird glow, no headache, no poison, no...nothing. She was beautiful. Her soft eyes looked into his, and she smiled, that tender smile she had, and she was sitting in bed.  _

_ “Bow, you look so worried...what’s happened?” Her face turned to one of concern.  _

_ “I...I couldn’t do anything. I couldn’t save you when I needed to.” Bow began to cry, kneeling on the floor, openly weeping. “I failed you!”  _

_ “Bow...you didn’t fail me.” She put her hand on his shoulder. “You did it...you did it, Bow.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “He’s transforming, Bow...be ready.” _

_ “What-...what are you talking about?” Bow stood up. Glimmer suddenly spoke with Adora’s voice.  _

_ “Bow? Are you with me?” _

“Bow!? BOW!” She Ra pushed him out of the way as a stalactite fell, and she was shielded by her own Shield. 

“YOU GOT THE VIAL!” SHe said. “But he’s...uhm…”

A dragon. 

So he really could turn into a dragon, huh? Bow hadn’t quite expected that, in reality. But it was here. 

She Ra barked orders. “BEYLOCK. Get to Swift Wind, Setharil’s with him, you get to the garden! Where’s Roke?”

Roke rushed from the prison of the cave, his tunic coated with blood and his chest heaving in air. 

“I can guar-” He got caught in another fight. He pushed the opposing swordsman aside and stabbed him, and was soon preoccupied with yet  _ more  _ swordsmen. 

“I can do it.” Catra said. “You need a clear space on the ground and Roke can provide that!”

She Ra didn’t want to be apart from Catra in a situation like this. But resource management was the more important factor right now. “Go! Get her out of here!” Catra didn’t need to be told twice as she rushed to Swift Wind, dragging Beylock along. “Come on! We’re getting a flower.”

Swiftwind flew away. 

And now, they had one last duty. 

Frosta didn’t heed the advice Adora had given her. She iced one of the dragon’s legs, to try and make it unable to fly from the weight. It didn’t work, as the dragon merely blew fire at the leg. As the fight came outside of the large chamber of the cave and into the open air, She Ra tried hard to get the beast down. Its fire was starting to burn the windbreaker forest around it. Mermista put out the flames. She combated the fire from one pass, but the dragon leaned a leg down and caught her with one of its talons. She felt to the ground, clutching her shoulder...the wound was deep. Seahawk rushed over. 

“Mermista!”

“I’m...fine. Get a bandage on it. I’ll live.” She sighed and stood as Seahawk attempted to bandage her arm. 

Scorpia and Roke fought off more guards and swordsmen from the inside of the cave. Scorpia threw one against the wall. 

“What happened back in the dungeon?”

“Nothing, it’s-” He ran one through, “fine. I mean, this is definitely the end of this tunic for me.”

Scorpia stung one. “Aww, that’s a shame, I like that color on you!”

Roke smiled and slashed one assailant’s neck, making him fall to the ground. “Really? Thanks, I appreciate it! I used to just wear-” He used his buckler to put a mark on someone’s forehead, which put them down for the fight, “I used to just wear black, but I think I like the whole blue look.”

Scorpia used her strength to toss one guard into a group of others. “Y’know? I think you look good with blue. I can see how the black all the time would just be so dower, but I can’t think of you in super bright stuff, so blue-” She socked one square in the face with her pincer, “Blue is a good choice!” The remainders all seemed to either run or surrender, throwing their weapons down. 

“Thanks, Scorpia, I appreciate it.” He smiled and blushed a little. “I don’t get a lot of compliments about stuff other than the whole swords thing.” He kicked one who was trying to get a last bit of magic out at him. 

“Aww, well, you know me. Just doing the best I can to be a good friend.” They looked out at the battle outside. 

“Looks like it’s starting to go our way.” Scorpia said. “...let’s help them finish up.”

“Let’s.” Roke and scorpia rushed for the mouth of the cave. 

* * *

Frosta was trying desperately to keep both herself and Mermista alive. Seahawk had run back to the boat, trying to get any sort of supplies he could. Scorpia and Roke weren't much help at a time like this...that left Adora and Bow. Adora had tried all sorts of magic attacks on it, to no avail. It seemed like the thing was impervious to it. 

“Bow, do you have any trick arrows left?”

“Hang on!” He loaded one up. This was an abnormal one, which could only be used in very big emergencies, such as this one. The arrow was meant to be able to stun literally anything; it had a potion in the tip, that on impact, would go through the bloodstream of a creature and just drop it. It wasn’t safe for use on humans. 

It was specifically for large animals...a dragon’s a large animal, right? Bow aimed for what looked like the softest part of it, as it came in for another pass. 

“Bow, he’s got fire coming for you!”

“I know.”

“Bow, you’re standing RIGHT IN ITS WAY!”

“ _ I KNOW!”  _ He didn’t wait any longer. He shot, and hoped. If the fire managed to reach him, he’d be doomed. If not...well, he didn’t know. 

The fire stopped inches from his toes. They heard a lurch, and a loud roar. Lurunosek’s dragon form came plummeting to the ground. 

“...wow…” Mermista looked over at the beast hitting the ground, 

Perfuma was quick to act, using plant magic to trap it under a net of softwood pine trees it had neglected to burn. She focused on the magic. The others rushed towards it. 

“Is it...dead?” A sudden snap and breath of fire proved that not only was it alive, but it was still able to fight. 

“We have to destroy it.” She Ra said. Perfuma gasped. 

“It’s a  _ dragon,  _ we-”

“It’s a person pretending to be a dragon.” She Ra straddled its neck, and looked away, as she drove the sword into the space between its neck and skull.

The dragon let out a mighty roar, but...slowly, it started to fade away, almost as if it were dust. It became the broken, old body of Lurunosek. 

And then it became ashes, as Lurunosek started to disintegrate. The ashes were blown away with the wind. Frosta looked on, helping Mermista up. “So...we beat it?”

“Yeah. Yeah, we...we beat him.” Bow said. The group cheered, hugged, and reunited. Perfuma ran into Scorpia’s arms. 

“I was so worried!” Scorpia twirled her around, picking her up. Perfuma put her forehead against Scorpia’s. 

“I was, too…” She kissed her softly, and held on tight as Scorpia walked. 

“Back to the riverboat?” She Ra turned back into Adora. She looked at Bow. 

“Yeah...back to the boat.” Bow looked in the direction of the Hillscape, just over the mountains. He wondered what was going on with Swift Wind, Catra, Setharil, and Beylock. He sighed and looked down. 

“They’ll beat us there either way, won’t they?” 

“They will.” Adora said. “You’ll have an answer when you get back to Bright Moon. It’s a while, though.” Adora patted his back. “Hey, you did a lot of good things today, regardless.” 

Bow hugged her. “Thanks.” 

As the group got back onto the riverboat, both them and the crew seemed to celebrate, as they all seemed more than eager to go. Most of the group knew that the war had been won, but a pretty big battle was still raging with Glimmer. Some chose to celebrate, others chose to pray to whatever deities they had. 

Bow looked towards the horizon, to see if he could spot anything flying off in the distance.


	10. The Garden and the Flower

Swift Wind let down at the palace. They received very little in the way of interference on the way there, and the weather was fair. Catra got off and stretched...this should be a walk in the park, right? Assuming everything went well with the battle. 

“Halt!” The guards held large polearms in front of the palace gate. “You are not to enter.”

“Why not?”

“No one is to see the princess without official busine-”

The men saw Beylock, and lifted the polearms. “Ahh. Beylock. Returned again?”

“Yes. We have someone here of great importance, I think you’ll find.”

“And who could that be?”

Setharil got off the horse, and tried her hardest to shield her face, hiding behind Beylock. 

“Your actual princess.” Catra crossed her arms. 

“Hah! Preposterous!” One of the guards laughed. “To think that just any random girl could pass as the princess.”

“Have  _ you _ seen her?” Catra knew very little. But she knew the princess was always hidden from view. This got the guards a little quieter.

“...right. Go ahead in. But any funny business and you’ll be killed. I mean it.  _ Dead. _ ” 

Beylock walked in and looked around. “A way to prove yourself…”

“The garden?” Setharil asked. 

“It’s heavily guarded, and if they’ve never seen your face without a mask on they’ll probably kill you before you reach it.” Catra said. “Best bet is to go into the throneroom and try and prove it with wits.”

“Or to sneak me into the garden?”

“It would not be easy, Setharil.”

“Perhaps my brother is here?” She asked. “He’s seen me...we grew up together, after all.” They walked to the throne room, and saw someone behind the veil. She whispered to the guard, who spoke back to them. 

“The princess wishes not to be disturbed.”

“That’s  _ not  _ the princess.” Well. Looks like Catra was going for the ‘i’ve got claws and you’ve got cuttable flesh’ approach, as she approached the guard who spoke for her. 

“No.” Setharil said. “Don’t hurt him.” 

The guard heard the voice. He blinked a few times. “...was that….wait.” He shook his head. “It couldn’t be, she-” He leaned in again, and then looked over. “...The princess has ordered that girl’s death. She is an impostor and a shapeshifting fraud.”

“WHAT!?” Catra was on high alert now. 

“You will, in fact, all be killed. By order of the princess.”

“I AM the princess!” 

“The princess doesn’t shout!” The guard said. 

“She does when she needs to!” Setharil said. “And I’m about to be murdered!” 

Beylock used magic to bring in a gust of wind and knock the guard down. It also knocked aside the veil, and revealed an  _ exact  _ look alike of Setharil. There was just one problem. 

When she blinked, her eyes momentarily changed. 

“She’s the shifter!” Catra rushed her, but was thrown back by magic from the faux princess. The guard rang a bell, which sounded an alarm. 

“You fools! Now all of the Palace knows you’re trying to kill her!” The guard went for Setharil, but she ducked out of the way and kicked him to the ground. Another few guards came in, and Catra used all her strength to hurl one into the wall at such a great speed that the rest of the guards decided it would be best for their heads to avoid her. 

Beylock managed to use a magical ward to get the guards to stop coming in, until he heard something. 

“What’s going on in the-” A man with blond hair, violet eyes, and heavy armor came over. It was  _ Klaus _ . Her brother. 

She looked up. “Klaus?” 

“Sehtaril?” He ordered the guards to stand down and knocked on the wall. “Wizard, lower the ward.” Beylock lowered it and Klaus came inside, hugging his sister tightly. 

“What’s happened?” 

“I...was captured and replaced by a shapeshifter.” She said, looking over. “She’s the shifter, I promise I’m really who I am!”

“Klaus,” the shifter spoke, “She’s lying. It’s a plot to overthrow us! Help me!” The shifter cowered behind her sheets. Klaus furrowed a brow. 

“Odd. There have been attempts at Setharil’s life.” He said. “She never cowered behind her sheets. She’d always rush to the garden. Should we see you go there?”

“I...I do not wish to go to my garden.” She said. “I have so many duties.”

Klaus crossed his arms. “You and I  _ both  _ know that you put those duties on me as soon as the weather is good.” He giggled. “We joke about it all of the time!” 

“I...Klaus…” 

“Were your eyes just green?” 

“Klaus, please, I-”

Klaus drew his sword and held it to the shifter’s neck. “Show yourself.” 

Some reluctance was visible in the shifter’s face. But soon, the shifter went through a few more forms, and eventually became something similar to Double Trouble. The shifter blinked a few times. 

“...if it helps I don’t know  _ who  _ hired me or for  _ what. _ ” 

The shifter was tied and bound, and thrown into the dungeon. Setharil embraced Klaus tightly. “I’m glad to have my kingdom back.” She said. 

“Your kingdom’s glad to have you.” He smiled warmly. He looked over at Beylock and Catra. 

“I don’t know how I can ever repay you.” Setharil said. 

“The flower.” Catra responded dryly. “Give us the flower.” 

“Darmath Nightshade, yes!” She scurried off to the garden, and returned with the flower they needed. She pressed it. “This will be usable in any number of potions...it will help in curing the most extreme of poisons. It is rare, and delicate, and must be mixed by someone of great skill.” She looked up at Beylock. “I’m sure Beylock will do fine.” 

“I’ll do my best.” He took the flower. “Catra, bring us to Swift Wind.” The two said their goodbyes and flew back to the palace as fast as Swift Wind could carry them. 

* * *

Catra sat in Beylock’s temporary study, looking around at everything. She spied a few feathers, from things she’d never seen before. She looked at a few maps, drawings of creatures she’d never seen, places she’d never been...she looked back over as she heard something mixing in a mortar. 

“This should work…” Beylock poured a mixture of herbs into a measuring cup, filled it with water, and stirred it. “This is melt water from caught snow in the Kingdom of Snows.” He said. “Some of the finest in the world.”

“Water’s water.” Catra said. “Isn’t it?”

“In many cases, yes. But with a potion like this, if there’s to be any water involved, it must be pure. Otherwise the ingredients will be spoiled, or affected by contaminants.” 

“Sure. Is it gonna save her?”

“I am not certain, her condition has greatly progressed. It’s our only hope, however. We must not wait much longer.” They heard something. Footsteps. Perhaps it was the others? 

Catra went to look. She blinked a few times. 

“You guys got back early.” She said. She hugged Adora tightly, and kissed her, as Adora pulled away from the kiss after a short while. 

“Did you get the flower?”

“We did, he’s almost finished with the potion.” She saw Bow, who waved shortly, then rushed into Glimmer’s room. Catra looked down. 

“Maybe I shouldn’t’ve kissed you like that in front of him?”

“I mean, it’s not like you  _ saw  _ him, he was around the bend.” Adora shook her head. “Nevermind.” They heard the footsteps of Beylock, who was walking down from his study. He walked past them with the potion in his hands. 

“Glimmer?” Bow said, nervously as he walked through the door. “...are you…” He looked on as she turned her head. Her eyes were sunken, and looked hollow. She put on a very faint smile.

“Bow.” She whispered, almost, as Beylock entered the room. 

“You have to sit her up.” Beylock said. Bow struggled to, and she winced with every move, her muscles aching and her body burning up. 

“Drink this, okay?”

“You did it.” She smiled and whispered. “I’m proud.”

“Glimmer, please drink this.” Beylock held the cup to her lips, and she instinctively drank. She struggled to swallow all of it, but she got it in the end. Beylock set the cup down, as the others walked in. Beylock walked to the door, and sighed. “Perhaps we should leave them be for now.” He said. 

As others shuffled out of the room, Glimmer looked Bow in the eye. 

“I don’t feel anything.” She said. 

“The potion? You don’t feel the potion?”

“No…” Glimmer softly kissed him, laying her head back down on the pillow. “Bow...I love you.”

“Glimmer, I love you too, but-”

“I just...I need rest.”

Glimmer felt clammy in his grasp, but he wasn’t letting go. He shook his head. “Please, just stay with me.” Hot tears streamed down his face and landed on her cheeks. She let off a small, weak, pained chuckle. 

“You’re...crying for me?” She rubbed his cheek. “That’s very you.”

“Glimmer! Please don’t joke around right now, I-I-”

“I need rest, Bow...stay…”

“I’ll stay with you.” He fought his boots off and hugged her tightly. “I’m staying,I’m not leaving.”

“Even...even if I leave?”

Bow swallowed. “Even if you leave.” He gripped her tight, as he felt her slowly start to fall asleep, still breathing, but just barely. 

She was still sleeping by the time exhaustion knocked him out. Glimmer was still somewhat awake, holding onto his hands. Her grip got weaker and weaker over time, as she fought to try and stay awake. She didn’t know what would happen if she let herself sleep. 

But exhaustion gets the best of us...and it got to Glimmer, as well. Still breathing, still alive. 

But when she woke up, she didn’t see her palace. She didn’t see any walls around her, at all. She saw...oh no. No, no no, this couldn’t be happening. She had to be dreaming, or something.

She saw Nell. 

The goddess of mercy and rest. 

“My child...you’re here much earlier than I’d expected?”


	11. Nosikur, the Realm of Rest

Glimmer blinked a few times, shutting her eyes as hard as she could and then opening them. She was still in Nosikur, the realm of Nell, goddess of mercy and rest. 

“Is...is this where I'm going to end up when I die?”

“Well, dear, it appears you might have di-oh…” Nell got closer. She was a tall, pale woman with long black hair and a simple black dress. She almost floated over to Glimmer, and looked at a small medallion she had around her neck. “...hmm...this is rare indeed.” She said. “It appears you were not fated to die. Fate is outside of my realm, that belongs to Saltra.” 

“So why am I here?”

“Well, you’re dead right now.” She said. “But...not forever.” She smiled gently. “This is a good thing, to be clear. It means you are not fated to die.”

“Do you know when I die?”

“I can only tell you that you die surrounded by friends. But I may not say when.”

“Oh.” She walked around. “How long will I be here?” She asked, walking around the realm. It was overcast there, and from the old stories it seemed it almost always was. The place was covered in pine trees, and it was cold, but not so cold it was uncomfortable. “And how did this happen?”

“It must be some sort of potion, I’d wager.” Nell said. “I suppose you were very sick, and the potion may have reacted strangely...but someone of your importance is linked directly to fate.”

“What?”

“It’s very hard for you to die. Not impossible, but….difficult. I’m sure Saltra is working things out as we speak.” Nell walked with her. “Come. You will accompany me to my cabin. We’ll rest a while, while you wait to be brought back.”

“If you say so.” 

* * *

Glimmer walked slowly across the forest, reaching the small cabin. It was a modest place, like the place Nell lived in when she was mortal, before she was made a goddess. Still, it was warm, and a fire had been started, and…

“Mom…?”

Angella was sitting there. 

She seemed greatly concerned at first, but...then she smiled as she saw the medallion. “Glimmer...come, child, sit with me.” She motioned to the seat next to hers. Glimmer just...hugged her tightly. 

“Do you know how many last words I’ve said in the past few days?” Glimmer was starting to choke up. “A-and I never got to say any of them to you.” She cried. “The last time you saw me alive I was with….I was with Shadow Weaver.” She looked into Angella’s eyes. 

“Can you ever forgive me?”

“Oh, dear…” She held her daughter close. “Of course I can. I know how it ends...I know how many things end, now. I know what happened to you, what they did to you on the ship with horde prime, and-”

“How did you die?”

“I’m sorry?” Angella asked. “I thought you knew, I went through the portal.”

“You never saw anything after the portal?”

“The portal was too strong.” She said. “I managed to go through, and I saw something. These things like buildings. But then, I...just stopped. Everything stopped working for me, I was too exhausted. I died fairly shortly after.”

“Mom…” She hugged her. “I love you. I loved you then, and I love you now, and I will  _ always  _ love you.” She looked her in the eye. “I wish I could say that to you in better circumstances.”

“I love you, too.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I will always watch over you.”

“Thanks, mom.” Glimmer smiled. 

“What happened to bring you here?” Angella asked. 

“I….I guess I was poisoned. And then the potion that was supposed to heal me kinda...reacted funny?” She shrugged. 

“You didn’t let some old wizard put something into you?” Angella looked concerned. 

“What? Pfft, no! Not at all! Maybe just….Beylock?”

Angella shook her head. “Goodness, Glimmer….at least it was Beylock.”

“At least.” Glimmer leaned closer and touched the medallion. It was cold, but….getting slightly warmer. She figured it was just the heat of her hands. She let it go in an attempt to have it cool down. A soft fall of rain started to hit the roof of the cabin, and there was a pitter patter from it outside, as Nell brought something over from the fireplace. It looked to be a sort of stew. She poured some out for Angella, then Glimmer, and then for herself. She decided to eat on her own, however, as she did have things to get done. The work of a goddess, after all, is never finished!

“So do you think I’ll live?”

“I suppose. It’s unlikely that anyone with the medallion doesn’t.”

“Nell told me everyone gets to live if they have it?” She asked. 

“It’s far more likely that you will. Of course, there’s never a zero percent chance of anything.” She ate a bit. “It could mean good things, it could mean nothing at all.”

“Will I get back to b-” She stopped herself, “to my friends? To ruling Bright Moon?”

“Who’s to say? Most probably? Yes.” Angella crossed her legs. “I wish I was there more often.”

“Mom, you’re  _ dead,  _ it’s not like you can be-”

“I meant when we were alive.” She said. “Your father was gone from an early age. I suppose I never realized how traumatic that could be.” She looked down. “I only saw myself losing a husband, I never thought about you losing a father.”

“...mom?” Glimmer seemed confused. “Why’re you telling me all this?”

“I may never get another chance.” Angella looked down into the bowl of stew. “If my death taught me anything it’s that you need to say what you feel to people. You need to do what must be done. I did, and I died thinking I’d save the world.”

“I know, and...I live with that. I live with not saying goodbye, and not saying sorry, and being the way I was.” Glimmer ate her stew slowly. “But I don’t look back at that. I try to look back at bedtime stories, and tea, and flying around…” She smiled. “And I know everything else happened. I know the war was present there, and up until recently, that sort of controlled me.” She felt a warmth on her collarbone, and felt the medallion. It was bizarrely warm. 

“I know that’s there. But...that isn’t all of it. At the end of the day, you were still telling me bedtime stories.” She smiled. “I know how you really felt. And to me that’s important.” Glimmer stood and hugged Angella tightly. She sniffled a little. “I’m getting married soon. To Bow.”

“I  _ knew  _ it.” Angella said.

“I wish you could be there. Not just watch from here, but...BE there. I hate that you won’t see us dance, or kiss, or anything.” 

“I know it hurts.” Angella said. “But what you must know is how proud I am of you. How devoted I am to you as a mother….how happy I am.” 

_ “Glimmer.” _

Glimmer seemed confused for a moment. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

_ “Glimmer, come outside of the cabin.”  _ It was a voice, in the back of her head. It startled her the first and second time. 

“I hear...something. It’s like, a voice.”

“The amulet!” Angella pointed. “It’s glowing….it must be your time.”

“My time to what?”

“I’m not sure….follow the voice.”

_ “Follow my voice. I am Saltra, goddess of fate.” _

“Mom, I love you. I’m sad to see you go.” She kissed her mother’s cheek. “I’ll see you when I’m older, mom.”

“Likewise.” Angella smiled. “Now go.” 

Glimmer got up, and looked around outside of the cabin, until she saw….it. 

Saltra appeared to her in her usual form, as a gray sort of flowing mass, formless, with bright eyes.

_ “You have come to Nosikur when it is forbidden. You are not to die yet.”  _ She said. 

“I was...made aware. What happens from here?”

_ “You will accompany me through the portal between our world and yours.”  _ She dropped something in front of Glimmer. A large horseshoe.  _ “Grab it.”  _

Glimmer held it, and suddenly, felt the sensation of moving very fast. She closed her eyes. She didn’t want to see what this looked like. She  _ couldn’t _ open her eyes at one point, feeling sick, then weightless, then more sick. She huffed and screamed. “Where...what’s happening?” 

_ “You are coming back to life. Farewell, Queen Glimmer. May your reign last long.”  _

“Agh!” Glimmer felt like she was being ripped apart limb from limb. An immense, searing pain took over her whole body as she fought to open her eyes. She still couldn’t. She clenched her teeth. What was happening!? Was this  _ really  _ resurrection, or a punishment for going beyond the realms before it was time!? 

She didn’t have much time to figure out, it felt, as it now felt as if her head was being pressed in a vice. She saw every memory of hers, in vivid, if fast, sped up detail. Birth, sledding, not seeing dad, stories, the war, finding Adora, princess prom, the heart, the ship, the end, fighting her father, kissing Bow for the first time, everything, as well as a cacophony of sounds. She screamed, and then…

* * *

She woke up. Her eyes shot open. She was in her bed in Bright moon, in the day bed she’d been in for the past week or so. She slowly sat up, and saw black ribbons around the bed. She really had died for a time, hadn’t she? She picked one up. She felt like she’d been trampled by horses, but other than the muscle aches, the fever was gone, and she could breath fully again. She heard the door open, and an undertaker came in and screamed. 

“Goodness, she’s alive!” She heard them scream down the hallway. “SHE ROSE! SHE LIVES!” 

A few more footsteps, as Bow rushed into the room. “Jeez, that’s tasteless, you can’t just say she’s ali-”

He looked her dead in the eye. 

“Bow?” She was holding one of the funeral ribbons.

“Glimmer?”


	12. Daybreak

Glimmer felt like she was being squeezed in between two rocks by the time Bow got to her to lock her in an embrace. She hugged him back, almost as tightly. They both didn’t know how to react...Bow cried, and Glimmer did, too, at first. Eventually they both wound up laughing. Glimmer kissed him deeply, laying back on the bed. Bow looked her in the eye when he pulled away. 

“Glimmer...you’re okay.” He was wide eyed. 

“I am, yeah.” She said. “And you didn’t doubt me for a second, did you?”   


“I never did. Well, there were a few moments this morning where-”

“Forget it, the point is I’m okay. I wanna change into some real clothes.” She said, getting up. “Let’s just let the room be private a while as I change okay?”

“Of course!” Bow walked out the door. “I’ll be back.” He shut the door behind him, and Glimmer started to undress, changing into much cleaner clothes. She heard cheering, and Bow going wild. She heard Adora’s voice, too, and others as well. She smiled a bit to herself. She got on her usual outfit, and walked to the door, opening it. A crowd had formed, made up of all the princesses. 

“Hey, guys.” Glimmer smiled. “Uhm, thanks for the whole life saving thing.” She laughed a bit. “I know it must’ve been rough on everyone’s schedule and a-HEY!”

She was group hugged by every princess who was even  _ at  _ the castle,  _ and  _ her father,  _ and  _ casta. She even felt Catra get in there.

“We were so worried!”

“We had to kill a  _ dragon  _ to do all this!”

“We? You mean  _ Adora,  _ right? Because you and I were cowering under an ice shield.”

“Well  _ we  _ were there, right?” 

“Guys, guys…” Glimmer gently moved them away from her. “I think this calls for a celebration. And not an argument over who did what.”

“Glimmer’s right.” Adora said. “I’d say we’ve earned a celebration.” 

“Oh! I wanna plan the celebration!” Frosta raised her hands. 

“NO. We’re getting Micah to do it.”

“What!? Why  _ me!?”  _

“You’re the one who knows about all the things we’d even need to get in place.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. “Just...it’s early in the morning, tell the cooks to prepare for a welcoming party, they’ll know what it means.”

“Can I do that?” Frosta asked. 

“I mean, they’ll probably listen to you.” Glimmer got something out of a pocket. “Give them this, they’ll have to listen then.” 

“Woo!” Frosta rushed to the kitchens. Glimme sighed. “I just need some...me time. So everyone else go ahead and get ready!” She clasped her hands together. “This’ll be good, I promise!” They all hugged her another round, and went to go get ready. 

* * *

Glimmer looked out the window of her room. She sighed deeply and looked down. Had they all really done everything to bring her back like that? After she almost destroyed the planet? She knew how weird it felt now for Catra, who always got iffy around accepting gifts and praise. Glimmer heard her door open. She was about to say she wanted to be alone, but she saw it was Bow, out of the corner of her eye. She smiled a bit to herself, and felt his arms wrap around her waist. She leaned into him. “We’re safe. I’m safe.”

“I know.” He said. “I just like to be sure.” He kissed the dop of her head. “You know me…” 

“Always careful, huh?”

“Always.” he turned her around and kissed her. “You seemed in a hurry to be alone. You alright?”

“Of course I’m fine! I mean, I only died and came back to life because the goddess of fate decided she felt like it.” 

“Wait, what?”

“I didn’t tell you that part?” She blinked. “Never mind then, it’s what it says on the tin.”

“Gotcha.” He rubbed the small of her back. “So, marriage. Are we still moving with the schedule?”

Glimmer laughed. “You’ve got a one track mind these days, Bow.”

“Hey, it’s okay that you’re the only track sometimes.” He kissed her once more. “I’m just happy that you’re okay.” 

“I am, too.” She sat on the bed and sighed. “Man, it felt horrible! I’m just glad I can breath with my mouth closed again.”

“That’s what you ‘re most glad about?” Bow laughed. 

“No, it’s just one of  _ many  _ things I’m glad about.” She winked and sat up, leaning on him. A knock on the door. 

“Come in!” 

Adora and Catra opened the door. “We figured you two would be in here…”

“Well, I mean, it is their room, Catra, I-”

Catra nudged Adora with her elbow. “I was saying that for dramatic effect, just-never mind.” 

“If you say so.” Adora said. The two were dressed nicely, Adora in a white and gold dress with her hair down, and Catra in a red blouse with very few buttons even done, a white and gold shoulder cape, and black trousers with riding boots. She crossed her arms. “You guys are coming to the party we’re throwing for you, right?”

“We are! We just wanted to talk a bit, is all.” 

“Wait.” Catra narrowed her eyes. “....Bow…” She looked closer at him. 

“...huh?”

“Is that a ring?” 

“What?”

“A ring. You never wear rings, at least, not a ring like that.”

“Well, I mean, it, uhh, it looks nice with this outfit, and-”

“Silver. It looks nice with  _ any  _ outfit.”

“Yep! Thaaaat’s why I bought it!” 

“Glimmer, are you wearing one too?” Catra hadn’t learned much about how love and marriage works, but she did know about the whole ring thing, as it was explained to her on a lengthy boat ride by Adora once a while back. 

“We were gonna tell everyone tonight?” Glimmer shrugged a bit. “Well, a few nights ago, but….y’know...the whole poison thing?”

“YOU TWO ARE GETTING MARRIED!? IT’S BEEN A YEAR!” 

“Hey! We knew each other for a  _ long time  _ before that, and-” Bow was cut off by Adora hugging Glimmer. Glimmer laughed. 

“Hah! I  _ knew  _ it’d be you two first! I knew it I knew it I knew it!” 

“Adora, hey! Get offa me!” 

Bow stood and sighed, holding Glimmer’s hand when Adora let her down. “Yes, we’re getting married.” 

“Congrats!” Adora hugged Bow, as well. “What you aren’t getting, right now, though, is to your party. We’re going to your party.”

“Let’s.” Bow said. 

“I’ll catch up with you guys.” Glimmer smiled a bit, kissed Bow, hugged Adora and Catra, and watched as they padded out of the room. Glimmer looked out the window again, at the setting sun. The window faced east, so all she saw was the shadow of the planet encroaching, and a soft pink fade to dark blue in the sky. She saw stars as well, and looked to them for a sign, any sign, that Angella was watching. 

“Are you there mom?” Glimmer asked. 

A shooting star went by, and Glimmer saw it as clear as day. She smiled to herself. 

That was a good enough sign for her to know. With a warm heart, she headed back downstairs. 


End file.
